The day-long Karnataka bandh today was called by right wing Sri Rama Sene to protest against the face blackening act on its founder Pramod Mutalik.
The day-long Karnataka bandh today called by right wing Sri Rama Sene to protest against the face blackening act on its founder Pramod Mutalik, evoked mixed response and passed off peacefully barring stray stone throwing incidents.
While the bandh evoked near total response in Sene's stronghold of Belgaum, Mangalore and Udupi it had no impact in other parts.
"The bandh passed peacefully by and large. Except for minor incidents of stone-pelting at Mangalore and Udupi, no untoward incident has been reported," DGP Ajai Kumar Singh
said, adding over 500 people were arrested.
Business establishments remained closed and schools and colleges declared holiday in Mangalore and Udupi. Vehicular movement was hit in Mangalore, Udupi and Belgaum.
Personnel of Karnataka State Armed Reserve Police and City Armed and District Armed Reserve forces were deployed, besides over 600 mobile patrol vans to maintain vigil.
Singh said the security cover would continue for tomorrow due to Sene's threat to disrupt Valentine's day celebrations.
Some suspected Youth Congress workers had blackened Mutalik's face and tried to assault him prior to a debate on
Valentine's Day held by a regional TV channel at an open air
theatre on Thursday. Congress has denied role of its members.
Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa charged there was a conspiracy to destabilise his government. The conspiracy was like the one hatched to topple the late Veerendra Patil led Congress government in 1990, he said but did not name anyone.
A Bellary report said, members of Sene and Hindu Jagaran Vedike burnt the effigy of the youth congress wing and shouted slogans against the Congress party.
The protesters demanded action against those who blackened Mutalik's face.
The bandh call evoked poor response in the city.
In Bijapur, business houses, educational institutions remained closed and vehicles went off the roads.
Unidentified persons pelted stones at two KSRTC buses andequal number of trucks.
Sene men staged dharna for about an hour in the city and shouted slogans against Congress.
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