5 Bajrang Dal workers held for setting canteen ablaze on suspicion of serving beef

Hassan: Nearly a week after few Bajrang Dal workers ransacked and burnt down a makeshift canteen, run by two women on suspicion that they cooked and served beef the police on Tuesday arrested five persons, including a minor.

The arrested have been identified as Karthik, president of the local unit of the Bajrang Dal, Deepu, Prathap, Raghu. The accused, including the arrested minor have been charged under  IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault on women), 427 (causing damage), 436 (committing mischief by fire) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

On January 31 the group allegedly ransacked and set ablaze the stall located at the APMC Ground in Sakleshpur and also threatened to set 70-year-old Khamrunnisa and her 50-year-old daughter-in-law Shamim on fire.

As per preliminary investigation, no traces of beef were found in the canteen.

Meanwhile, Khamrunissa, who has been running the stall at the premises for several years now said that the police refused to file an FIR into the incident initially.

“The police did not take our complaint seriously. We kept waiting in the police station till 11 pm on Tuesday. The police then came forward and urged us to file a complaint the day after the attack,” she told local reporters.