Tuesday was a nightmare for many Bangaloreans as a traffic gridlock at Mysore Bank Circle affected many parts of the city.
Tuesday was a nightmare for many Bangaloreans as a traffic gridlock at Mysore Bank Circle affected many parts of the city. Advocates had resorted to a flash protest, alleging that the police tortured one of their colleagues.
The protest started at 11.30am and stretched on till 6pm, thus leaving many people fuming. The media, too, were not spared during the spat. They were first threatened when the protest started.
Later, when some cameramen went inside a temple in the circle to get a clearer view, they were abused and a photojournalist from The New Indian Express was stoned; he escaped as he hid behind a tree on the premises. When TV9 started flashing advocates’ high handedness, its cameraman and reporter were the automatic target for the lawyers. They caught hold of many cameramen enquiring if they are from TV9 before showering the choicest of abuses to the media fraternity.
When the protest was reaching its end, a minor clash ensued between the police and lawyers when some policemen were trying to lead vehicles past the protesters. When some cameramen tried to click pictures, their cameras were snatched.
While a photographer from rural area, Dharmalingam, did not get his camera back, DNA photojournalist Mohan Kumar BN was lucky as a friend among the protesters recognised him and pacified the lawyer who tried to snatch his camera. The whole incident was not without some nice moments, though. A passer-by was commenting on police inaction. He compared them to the Indian cricket squad for fourth Test against Australia without Dhoni!
While city police commissioner BG Jyothi Prakash Mirji was not visible for most part of the day, his deputy T Suneel Kumar was not in a position to ask his men for batting (read lathi-charge).
A group of tiny tots who were stuck in their school bus represented a sorry state of affairs. While the van’s driver was attending frantic calls from school and parents, I spoke to some children who wanted to speak to their parents. My mobile came in handy as three of them spoke to their parents. It was a cute ‘thank you Ananth uncle’ from Hruday, who spoke to his dad Namith, that made my day amid the ruckus.
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