About 40 people trying to stage protest in Bengaluru against Nagamangala violence detained

Bengaluru: About 40 people were detained on Friday as they tried to stage a protest in front of Town Hall here against the violence during a Ganesh idol immersion procession at Nagamangala town in Mandya district, police said.

Some of them carried Ganesh idols demanding action against those who indulged in stone-pelting and went on a rampage targeting shops and vehicles in the town on September 11, they said.

“A group of people were proceeding to stage a protest in front of Town Hall but even before they could reach the venue, we stopped them as there was no permission to hold a protest there. However, they did not listen and had to be detained. About 40 of them have been taken into preventive custody,” a senior police officer said.

A few people, including two policemen, sustained minor injuries in stone-pelting on Wednesday night in Nagamangala, police officials said.

According to police, an argument broke out between two groups, when the procession by devotees from Badri Koppalu village reached near a ‘dargah’ on Wednesday, and some miscreants hurled stones, which escalated the situation.

Following the clashes between the two groups, a few shops were vandalised and goods torched and vehicles set on fire on Wednesday night, they added.

Police used mild force to disperse the crowd to control the situation.

The group of youth that carried out the procession halted and staged a protest near the police station, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible for the violence.