‘Molestation’ sparks tension in Bhatkal   

BHATKAL (UTTARA KANNADA): Tension prevailed at Bhatkal on Thursday night when two groups clashed after a girl from a particular community was allegedly molested at Ramzan market in the town.
The police, who swung into action, brought the situation under control after taking into custody Chandra Somayya Gouda (28), an autorickshaw driver from Bhatkal Hadlur, Mohammad Meeran Mohammad Imran Shaikh (35), a textile shop employee from Sultan Street, Ravindera Shankar Naik (32), an autorickshaw driver from Hadeen Sarpankatta, Ismail Noorani Jafar Sadiq (26), a driver, Syed Salim Syed Sanaullah (31), an autorickshaw driver, Muhammad Faizan Abdul Azim and Mohammad Saddam Nizamuddin Syed. They were booked for rioting and disturbing communal harmony.

The trouble started when the girl was allegedly molested by a group of people. In the meantime, another group entered the scene and started beating up those who had allegedly molested the girl and wanted to hand them over to the police. But some passersby, who intervened, wanted the group not to hand over the men involved in the incident to the police.

The police arrived at the spot and tried to pacify the clashing groups. But the situation became tense again when some persons threw stones at the police vehicle. The police had a tough time in bringing the situation under control. The situation remained tense for a while, the police said.

The incident has been given a communal colour by two major political parties. However, some residents stated that it was a pre-planned one. “It appears that it was a pre-planned incident, where one group might have been asked to trouble the girl and the other to pick up a quarrel,” said Inayatullah Gawai, a social worker. “We do not want any untoward incident during the holy month of Ramzan,” he added.
However, no complaint has been registered by the girl.