Mangalore, Apr 21: A tense atmosphere prevailed in Ullal and surrounding areas after a minor accident led to communal clash and vandalism on Sunday evening.
The town falls under Mangalore Assembly Constituency, which includes many communally sensitive places. The incident has triggered fear among the public, amidst the ongoing political campaign for looming Karnataka Assembly polls.
The trouble broke out after a car returning from Ullal Beach hit a middle aged woman, who was walking along the beach road with her two little children.
The woman identified as Khatheejamma (42) sustained minor injuries in the incident. According to local sources, when the locals waylaid the Indica car, its driver identified as Ganesh, a resident of Masthikatte justified his rash driving and abused the woman.
Enraged over the attitude of driver, a group of local residents thrashed him on the road.
However, the issue led to a clash between two groups belonging to separate communities after Ganesh reportedly informed about the incident to his friends over phone.
Meanwhile, a group of 10 miscreants surrounded one Habeeb (27) a resident of Mukkacheri area and thrashed him brutally. He was later rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Subsequently, around seven men, stopped a 44A bus — from Someshwar to Mangalore — at Ombatukere around 6.30 p.m and threw at least five stones at it, said Loknath Shetty, the driver of the bus who suffered cuts on his arm.
At 7.20 p.m., another bus, route 44D, travelling from Mangalore to Ullal, was pelted with stones by two people, and the driver, Iqbal was injured.
In the meantime, people belonging to two groups gathered in front of Ullal Police Station shouting slogans and demanding action against each other. The police resorted to baton charge to disperse the mob, wherein a few people sustained injuries. They also took two persons identified as Mustafa and Haneef, residents of Belma, into custody on charges of interrupting police personnel while videotaping the mob.
Security has been beefed up in the area following the incident. Additional police personnel and Border Security Force members have been deployed in the area.
The car driver Ganesh was later arrested at a check-post as he entered Mangalore city.
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