Manipal, 9 Sept

The Manipal police have filed an FIR against BJP activists for allegedly trying to burn an effigy of Chief Minister Siddaramiah here. According to the FIR, a few BJP activists gathered at the Syndicate Circle here on 6 September and wanted to take out a procession to the Deputy Commissioner's office to submit a memorandum against withdrawing a State award to a teacher in Kundapur.

Later, the workers brought an effigy and a portrait and wanted to beat the portrait of the Chief Minister with footwear and burn the effigy; at this point, the police intervened and stopped the workers from carrying out their protest. However, the workers carried on with the event, following which the police filed an FIR, a senior police officer said.

The BJP workers did not have police permission to organise a big gathering in the town, or take out a procession, police said, adding party workers Girish Anchan and Prithviraj Shetty Billadi have been named in the FIR as accused for carrying out the act in public. PTI