Members of the Kuruba community barge into the office of the deputy commissioner (DC), along with their sheep, during a protest demanding that they be granted reservation in Bagalkot on Saturday. dh photo
Members of the Kuruba community, on Saturday, ransacked the office of the deputy commissioner (DC) during a protest demanding that they be granted reservation.
The protesters had brought hundreds of sheep along with them. They barged into the chambers of the DC and broke the windowpanes. Police resorted to mild caning to disperse the mob. The Kuruba community had earlier come in a procession that began at the Kalidas ground in Navanagar.
The protesters were aghast that Deputy Commissioner P A Meghannavar was not present in his office when they came there to present a memorandum to him, despite informing him beforehand. Revanasiddeshwara Swami of Manasuru Mutt, Dharwad, climbed on to the DC’s table and addressed the gathering. The staff at the office and the policemen on duty looked on helplessly.
Police reinforcements were brought in and the protesters were sent out and caned. Meghannavar, for his part, said he did not know about the protest plan and that he would have waited for them if he had information. Former MP A H Vishwanath, actor Yogesh (Loose Mada) and others were present. Vishwanath later apologised to the deputy commissioner for the ransacking of his office. He took the protesters to task over the incident.