Bengaluru: Children's play turns into elders' big, violent fight

A petty argument over children playing on the street during the lockdown snowballed into a big, violent fight between the residents of Rajajinagar in northern Bengaluru.

It all started when Padmavathi, whose husband Kumareshan runs a grocery store near their home in Rajajinagar 6th Block, warned a group of children against playing near their shop during the lockdown. The children are said to have been playing there for the past 10 days, and reportedly didn't heed Padmavathi's warning.

Kamareshan informed the children's parents but they also ignored him. Padmavathi decided to escalate the matter and called the police on April 22. A Hoysala patrol car arrived at the spot and warned the children and their parents against stepping out during the lockdown.

The neighbours ostensibly didn't like the police coming to the area. Two days later, the family of a neighbour named Perumal harassed Kumareshan's children when they stepped out to get something from a nearby store.

The attack

Around 7.45 pm that day, Perumal and other neighbours allegedly fought with Padmavathi when she was alone in her grocery store. Kumareshan reached home soon after. According to him, he saw Perumal, his sister Somamma, her husband and other relatives namely Manjula and Roopa beating Padmavathi and throwing glass bottles out of his store.

Kumareshan claimed that the neighbours also manhandled his mother when she tried to shutter the shop.

Kumareshan stated that the group also beat him black and blue and vandalised his shop, with Perumal attacking him with logs while others threw stones at him. The fight was eventually stopped by other residents.

The couple had to be taken to a hospital. They filed a complaint with Magadi Road police on April 25. A police officer confirmed that Kumareshan sustained injuries on the head, hands, shoulders and the back while his wife injured her hands.

Police arrested Perumal and Somamma but released them on bail. "We warned them against troubling the couple again," the officer added.