People from Kerala behind Mangaluru violence: Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai
New Delhi: People from neighbouring Kerala indulged in violence in Mangaluru during protests against the amended citizenship law, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed on Thursday.
He also warned that strict action will be taken against those involved in violence and spreading rumours.
"People who had come from Kerala to participate in the protest also tried to set fire to a police station in Mangaluru and damaged public property. To control the mob, police had to use force," Bommai told reporters here.
The protest march was held peacefully in most parts of Karnataka but there was violence in Mangaluru. Some of the people came from Kerala and they misled students and instigated violence, he alleged.
The home minister also said the state government will take action against anti-social elements.
The Karantaka government suspended mobile internet services for 48 hours in Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada district after reports of violence.
Mobile Internet services have been suspended in the two places, a state Home Ministry order said.
It has been done because protesters are likely to use social media platforms for spreading rumours and also for transmission of information like pictures, videos and text that "have the potential to inflame passions and thus exacerbate the law and order situation", it said.
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
