8 arrested for clash after Modi rally

Mangaluru: Mangaluru City police, late on Sunday, arrested eight people in connection with a clash at Madani Nagar under Ullal police station limits, a few hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in the city.
Police commissioner Sandeep Patil told TOI passengers in two cars – a Honda City which had a group of friends in it and a Maruti Alto, which had BJP supporters in it — got into an altercation somewhere on the highway between Mangaluru and Ullal. Both groups were on their way back home from the rally.

On reaching Kuthar around 8pm, the group in the Honda City stopped their vehicle and got a few more people from the area to take on the people in the Alto, which arrived at the spot a few minutes later. One group began pelting stones at the other car, leading to a traffic jam in the area.

Two buses that were ferrying BJP supporters from the rally also reached the spot and got stuck in traffic. As men in the buses learnt about the brawl, they came out in support of those travelling in the Maruti Alto, leading to a tense atmosphere. BJP workers alleged that stones were pelted at one of the buses and that women passengers were assaulted. Patil said that his team has taken up the matter seriously, and that more suspects will be arrested soon.

Meanwhile, BJP state co-spokesperson Sulochana Bhat alleged that district minister UT Khader was behind the incident. “I suspect that the minister is hand in glove with the miscreants,” she said. Congress is desperate in the district and as a result they are attacking BJP workers. They have the support of the minister.”