Protests, Lathi-Charge In Karnataka Over Lingayat Community's Quota Demand
NDTV
One video of the lathi-charge showed a small army of cops bearing down on the protesters, who broke ranks and were being led away by the authorities into one of several parked police buses.
Protests over the Lingayat Panchamasali community's demand for quotas turned violent in Karnataka's Belagavi Tuesday after an agitation led by the community's religious head, Basavajaya Mrityunjay Swamiji, was lathi-charged. The protesters were trying to break a security cordon and move towards the Vidhan Soudha, the winter session of which began Monday.
The protesters had threatened to march on, and lay siege to, the Vidhan Soudha if their demands aren't met. In response, police took a number of lawmakers from the opposition BJP and Mrityunjay Swamiji, as well as many of his supporters, were taken into preventive custody.
Videos of the aftermath showed torn footwear scattered across the road and cops arguing with the remaining protesters. One particularly disturbing video showed a protester with a bloody bandage on his head and bloodstains on his white shirt; a policeman was trying to take him away, possibly into custody, but he was being heckled and questioned by other protesters.
