Violence broke out at a programme organised by the Congress at Kalladka here on Saturday to promote harmony ahead of the ensuing parliamentary elections. Section 144 has been clamped on the entire Bantwal taluk for the next three days.

Rival groups hurled stones and bottles at one another. A four-wheeler was set ablaze while two-wheelers were also damaged. Bantwal Station Inspector Sanjay Kumar, who tried to prevent the clash, was injured after a stone hit him. He has been admitted to a private hospital in Mangalore. As many as 10 people, including a youth, are said to be injured.

Violence erupted in the harmony convention when Zilla Panchayat member Chandraprakash Shetty, in his introductory remarks, criticised RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat. Local youth took exception to his comment and complained to police. Meanwhile, the agitated youth began throwing stones and bottles on the venue, as well as the highway. Party workers also retaliated. The incident occurred in the presence of district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai.

The police, deployed in small numbers on the spot, failed to control the situation immediately. They tried to disperse the crowd by resorting to mild lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells. Amid this violence, a vehicle was set on fire. The highway was blocked for sometime because of the violence.

Police Commissioner R Hitendra told Deccan Herald that no arrests were made. “The situation is under control now. We have started the process of listing down the names of those involved in the attack and they will arrested soon,” he said.