Panchamasalis stopped from storming Suvarna Soudha during quota protest

Police lathi-charge disperses Panchamasali Reservation Agitation Committee members storming Suvarna Soudha; leaders arrested, traffic jam caused.

The police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse members of the Panchamasali Reservation Agitation Committee who tried to storm the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi on Tuesday.

The police stopped several groups led by community leaders Sri Basava Jaya Mrutyunjay Swami, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Iranna Kadadi and Arvind Bellad that tried to forcefully enter the Suvarna Soudha.

The police pushed them away successfully and cleared the protest site. The leaders were taken into custody and the seer was taken away from the site. All the leaders were released later.

The protest led to a traffic jam on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway for over an hour.

Activists tried to break the police barricade and threw stones at the police and government vehicles. Some also tried to climb the fence and enter the premises from the sides and the rear.

Committee leaders said that 20 protestors were injured in the lathi-charge. However, the police said that only one protestor was injured in the lathi-charge.

The committee members organised a rally in Kondaskoppa village off the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway near the Suvarna Soudha.