Mandya village tense after group clash

 Eerie silence prevailed at Hulivana village in Mandya on Friday, following violence that erupted on Thursday night in the wake of an alleged inter-caste marriage between a Dalit boy and a Lingayat girl.

Fifteen policemen and eight Dalit men were injured in the clash and 24 houses were damaged in stone-pelting. Two vehicles were also torched. The police had to cane the mob to bring the situation under control.

No untoward incidents were reported on Friday. A group of men threw stones at the house of the Dalit boy and other houses at 8 pm on Thursday. The police took one of them into custody. Irked over this, the group started attacking the policemen, leaving 15 of them injured. The police resorted to caning to disperse the crowd. Around 42 persons were taken into custody for inquiry. Shops remained closed on Friday anticipating trouble.
IGP (Southern Range) Vijaykumar Singh, SP Bushan Borase and others visited the Dalit Colony on Friday. Four DAR forces, two KSRP platoons, and a fire tender have been stationed at the village.

A Dalit youth, Pradeep, and a Lingayat woman were in love and went missing three days ago. The trouble started when a section of the people got information that the duo had married. The girl’s parents lodged a complaint of kidnap against the boy. But later, it was clarified that both were majors.

The boy’s house was attacked on September 2. A case was booked on September 3 in this regard. After Thursday’s violence, cases have been registered against 68 people for not allowing the police to do their duty. Cases were also registered against 58 persons based on a complaint lodged by a woman, Kamakshamma.