Sindgi police resorted to lathi charge and opened fire in the air on Wednesday to disperse a mob from Nagavi B K Tanda, which had assembled outside the police station demanding the officials to hand over to it a 35-year-old missing woman.
In the melee, several policemen and onlookers were injured. Many vehicles were also damaged. Some time back, one Gopichand Pawar had lodged a complaint stating that his wife Channawwa (35) was missing since November 10, 2012.
When the police traced Channawwa, she reportedly refused to go with her husband. Then the police admitted her to a women’s care centre in Bijapur.
According to sources, Pawar, who had been working in the Middle East, had deposited some money and gold in the name of Channawwa. The people of the tanda wanted to settle the issue themselves. They thought that Channawwa was lodged in Sindgi police station and gathered there. The police tried to explain to them that she was not there, but the crowd refused to disperse and started throwing stones at the station. To disperse the mob, the police resorted to lathi charge and then fired in the air.