BELAGAVI, 25 FEB

In the wake of tension prevailing in the border district of Belagavi and attacks on buses and their crew, services between Karnataka and Maharashtra have been suspended for fourth, authorities said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, both factions of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike – TA Narayana Gowda and Praveen Shetty – staged demonstrations and the pro-Kannada activists courted arrest. They separately met conductor Mahadevappa Hukkeri and assured him of all possible assistance.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the situation in Belagavi was normal. He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh and DGP Alok Mohan to speak to their counterparts in Maharashtra and ensure the safety of the buses and crew from both states.

Noting that the conductor who was assaulted is likely to be discharged tomorrow, Reddy said the POCSO case against him on Saturday was "false" and an afterthought.

The unrest was sparked by the assault on a bus conductor by a group of people for the former’s refusal to converse with two passengers in Marathi.

"We have suspended bus services to Maharashtra since yesterday. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has also stopped operating buses to Karnataka," said a senior officer of the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC).

POCSO CASE WITHDRAWN

Meanwhile, the parents of the minor girl on Tuesday withdrew the POCSO case they filed against Hukkeri at Marihal police station to protect “communal harmony”. Belagavi Police Commissioner Ada Martin said they withdrew the case without any condition or pressure.

In a video released later, the mother of the girl said though injustice was meted out to their daughter, they withdrew the case as “it created tension between Kannadigas and Marathis in Belagavi”.

A group of around eight people assaulted Hukkeri at Balekundri bus stand in Belagavi taluk for asking the girl and boy who was with her to ask for a ticket in Kannada language.

After the assault, the conductor filed a case with Marihal police. The girl also filed a POCSO case against him, alleging that he made some vulgar gestures at her on the bus.