Inter-caste clash: Namdharis lay siege to Bhatkal police station

Bhatkal, June 23: Tension prevailed in Bhatkal on Friday when people belonging to caste laid siege to the police station demanding action against a local leader of another caste for allegedly inciting attacks against them.

Hundreds of Namdharis staged a dharna in front of the Bhatkal police station demanding that Mankalu Vaidya, member of the Uttara Kannada Zilla Panchayat be arrested.

People from Namdhari and Moger communities clashed at Mathadahitlu in Murudeshwar on June 8 over a trivial issue of parting with a piece of land to build a road. Forty people were injured in the clash. The police had arrested people from both communities in connection with the clash.

Protesters alleged that following the June 8 clasth, Mr. Vaidya held meetings of Mogers and incited them to attack Namdharis. They alleged that the police had not acted against him.

The agitating youths raised slogans and refused to leave the station premises. When the situation became tense, senior police officers, including K.T. Balakrishna, Superintendent of Police, and Subhash Gudimani, Additional Superintendent of Police, rushed to Bhatkal from Karwar and held a meeting with the agitating youths.

Mr. Balakrishna promised them that the police would take action against those responsible for the attacks.

Namdhari community leaders Lakshman Naik and Govind Naik attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, sources close to Mr. Vaidya denied his role in the violence and attributed the protest by Namdharis to political rivalry.

The sources said Mr. Vaidya aspired for the Congress ticket to contest the last Assembly election.

But the party denied him ticket owing to pressure from some people. Later, the Congress denied him ticket to contest the zilla panchayat election also. But he contested as an independent candidate and won.

Though Mr. Vaidya was out of the Congress, he would be one of the strong contenders for the party ticket to contest the next Assembly election. Some people, who could not tolerate the growing popularity of Mr. Vaidya, provoked the majority Namdhari community against him, the sources added.