6 injured as cops, protesters clash near M'luru

The police resorted to caning to disperse a massive crowd which gathered at Parari Junction on the city outskirts on Monday to protest against the assault on a few people belonging to the Hindu community at Ulaibettu on December 5.

Two women and four police personnel were injured in stone-throwing and windowpanes of two buses were damaged in the skirmishes.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishat and Bajrang Dal had given a bandh call to protest the Friday incident. They had also decided to take out a protest march from Parari Junction to Vishwanatha Mahaganapathi temple at Ulaibettu. The Mangaluru police commissioner had imposed ban orders to prevent any untoward incident in the region.

However, the protesters gathered in large numbers and Vajradehi Mutt seer Rajashekarananda addressed them.

Later, they tried to march towards Vishwanatha Mahaganapathi temple when the police stopped them. At this juncture, a few miscreants tore a Congress banner, while others threw stones at the police. The police resorted to caning and in the melee, two women and four police personnel suffered injuries.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner R Hithendra, Deputy Commissioner of Police K V Jagadish and Assistant Commissioner of Police Pavan Nejjur, who were present at the spot, brought the situation under control, and arrested the protesters.
Meet

Later, the protesters held a meeting at Vamanjoor, where the ban orders were not in force, and seer Rajashekarananda and former MP Tejaswini addressed the gathering. Police Commissioner Hithendra said baton-charge was inevitable as the protesters defied the ban orders and took out a protest march.
He said the situation was

under control and action
would be initiated also against those who had called the bandh.
Disruption in traffic

As the protesters pelted a few buses with stones in the
morning and burnt tyres on the road, bus services were on the Vamanjoor-Kaikamba-
Moodbidri Road were
stopped.

Shops and other commercial establishments at Bajpe, Kateel, Yekkar, Edapadav, Vamanjoor and Kaikamba down their shutters.
Schools and colleges in the area remained closed.
DH News Service