Many injured as police cane protesting farmers

Police resorted to lathi charge to disperse farmers who were trying to lay siege to the deputy commissioner’s (DC) office, as part of a protest in support of their demands in the city on Monday afternoon.

A total of eight police personnel and several farmers were injured in the incident.  
Members of the district unit of the Karnataka Raitha Sangha were demanding that receipt pattas should be given to land cultivators, title deeds should be provided to the landless residing on government land, action should be taken against those involved in stone quarrying and a CBI inquiry should be ordered into the irregularities in selling ash residue at the Hatti Gold Mines.

Cops hurt

Constable Savita suffered grievous injuries on the head. Circle Inspector Chandrashekhar and constable Chennappa were the other personnel who sustained injuries.

Huchcha Reddy, Chandsab, Narasamma, Badesab, Manappa, Kenchappa, Basavaraj, Shivamma, Aiyappa, Anjaneya, Ghouse and Mumtaz Begum were the Raitha Sangha members who suffered injuries in the lathi charge. They were treated as outpatients at the district hospital.

The police resorted to caning when the protesters tried to lay siege to the deputy commissioner’s office. They threw stones and pieces of bricks at the police. One of the protesters, a pregnant woman, fell down and got ill. Baby Walekar, inspector of the Market Yard police station, took her to hospital for treatment.

A few leaders of the farmers’ organisation were taken to the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) and later, let off.

M Nagaraj, the SP, told Deccan Herald that none of the protesters had been arrested. Leaders of the Raitha Sangha claimed that the act of throwing stones was the handiwork of miscreants and members of the Sangha were not involved.