Cauvery water row: Death toll in Bengaluru rises to two, 300 people arrested so far

One more person died of injuries he suffered while escaping police lathicharge, as sporadic protests were reported in Bengaluru on Tuesday, where an uneasy calm prevailed, and other parts of Karnataka, a day after Bengaluru was rocked by violence over the raging Cauvery water sharing row with Tamil Nadu.

The toll in the Cauvery stir related violence rose to two with a 30-year old man, who had jumped in panic from a three- storey building while trying to escape police lathicharge, succumbed to multiple injuries Tuesday afternoon. "Kumar, about 30 years old, has died. He was brought to our hospital at 9:30 last night in a critical stage.He is said to have jumped from third floor of a building as he was trying to escape from a lathicharge yesterday," Dr Giridhar, Managing Director of Lakshmi Multi-Speciality Hospital said.

"He had several injuries on his body like head, facial and pelvic. Both his legs were also fractured," he said. One person was killed and another injured in police firing in the country's IT capital on Monday after sudden eruption of widespread violence, escalating tensions between the two states. Curfew, imposed late last night, continued to remain in force in 16 police station limits of the city which is under prohibitory orders till September 14.

A bus that was half burnt on Monday was torched once again on Tuesday near New Timber layout and another vehicle was also set on fire near Tigalarapalya. Both had Tamil Nadu registration number plates.

Police lobbed tear gas at Hegganahalli and Pattegarapalaya as protesters tried to burn tyres on the streets, defying curfew. Police are also conducting combing operations in several sensitive areas and dispersing crowds that are gathering. Senior police officials said curfew would continue until further orders and would be reviewed this evening.

Sporadic protests have been reported in different parts of the state like Mandya, Chitradurga, Ramanagara and Mysuru. In Chitradurga, a lorry bearing Tamil Nadu registration number was burnt, while in Ramanagara protesters held demonstrations in front of a farmhouse that reportedly belongs to a daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Shooting of a Tamil film was stopped by protesters at Jaganmohan palace in Mysuru, police said. In a video message to the people of the state, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah warned of stringent action against any act of vandalism or disturbance to peace.

Home Minister G Parameshwara said anyone who takes the law into their hands would not be spared and stringent action would be taken against them. "We will take stringent action against them. No one will be spared. We will not allow anyone to take law into their hands and we want your cooperation for this," he said.

Noting that a few organisations and political forces were behind Monday's violence, Parameshwara said more than 300 people had been arrested so far and more would follow. He said it is government's responsibility to protect public and their property and "we will do our work without any hesitation," he added. Asked whether the government had failed in assessing the situation Monday and in maintaining law and order, he said, "we did our best and we showed some sort of tolerance, but that has been misused."

Pointing out that the violence was an instantaneous reaction to the developments in Tamil Nadu, Parameshwara said "we have controlled it as far as possible, or else there were chances of it going out of control and more loss of lives." He said that other than a couple of stray incidents, the situation is peaceful.

Parameshwara said government has decided to give Rs 10 lakh compensation each to families of the two persons killed. Sidddaramaiah held consultations with senior Congress leaders from the state on the prevailing situation. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention. He said the Prime Minister has to convene a meeting of Chief Ministers from riparian states for an out of court settlement of the issue. "I request the Prime Minister at this critical juncture as it involves inter-state water dispute. His role is important for peaceful settlement of the dispute."

The city that saw widespread violence, appeared to be limping back to normalcy, with no fresh incidents of violence being reported since last night. The bustling IT city was bereft of its monstrous traffic. There were very few vehicles moving on city roads,with schools and colleges and also government offices remaining shut due to Bakri Eid on Tuesday. State run transport services remained skeletal with very few buses plying on roads in select areas.

Officials said transport services to Tamil Nadu remain suspended. Metro Rail services have been temporarily stopped. The Supreme Court, modifying its September 5 order, had asked Karnataka on Monday to release a reduced amount of 12000 cusecs of Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu till September 20. On September 5, it had directed release of 15,000 cusecs for 10 days to ameliorate the plight of farmers of Tamil Nadu, triggering protests from farmers and pro-Kannada outfits with Karnataka observing a bandh against it on September 9.