Police crack down on pro-Maharashtra activists

Belgaum wore a deserted look on Tuesday, a day after massive protests by members of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) brought the city to a halt, and led to lathi-charge on the activists.

To prevent further unrest, the police have put most of the top leaders of the Samiti behind bars, thereby throwing a wet blanket over Wednesday’s Belgaum Bandh proposed by the group.

Until Tuesday night, the Belgaum police had arrested as many as 14 MES activists, including a former MLA and a former mayor of the city. Earlier in the day, pro-Karnataka Kannada Rakashka Vedike held a meeting at Kannada Sahitya Bhavan, which was addressed by prominent Kannada leaders including former mayor Siddangoda Patial and Ashok Chandargi, who condemned the MES.

Monday saw a massive protest march led by MES in which as many as 10,000 protesters went to the city collector’s office to condemn the central government’s affidavit in the Supreme Court declining Maharashtra government’s claim on Belgaum and other Marathi speaking areas in Karnataka.

Police resorted to lathi-charge on the agitators as some tried to hoist a saffron flag on the collector’s office. Around 20 persons were wounded in the police action. Among those arrested were former MLA Manohar Kinikar and Belgaum Municipal Corporation’s former mayor Vijay More.