A day after two people were killed in police firing during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment )Act in Mangaluru, the police on Friday arrested several journalists, including many from Kerala.
Onmanorama reported that the police also destroyed the vehicle of Kerala-based media outlet. The phones of the journalists were also confiscated.
Balaji Srinivas, the state convener of the BJP in Karnataka, tweeted “50 goonda elements from Kerala tries to enter Venlak hospital in Mangalore in the name [of] journalists. Sources says the gang was carrying weapons and cameras to create ruckus.”
Mangaluru Police Commissioner P.S. Harsha told Times of India people from Kerala had entered Mangaluru in the guise of journalists and had fomented trouble.
The arrest of people from Kerala comes hours after Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed people from the neighbouring state were indulging in violence in Mangaluru.
"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 on Thursday.
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“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.
Meanwhile, internet services in Mangaluru continue to remain disrupted. Transport services in the city are also restricted on Friday according to local reports.