Karnataka Police on Thursday arrested TA Narayana Gowda, the chief of the pro-Kannada outfit Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, and 29 of his associates for allegedly targeting several shops in prominent business centres of Bengaluru on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.
The shops were allegedly vandalised by the protestors for not using Kannada in their storefront nameplates.
The police arrested them after filing a first information report on Thursday in the North East Division. The FIR alleged that the protestors indulged in violence, including damaging public property in Chikkajala, and manhandling and stopped police personnel from doing their duties during the pro-Kannada group’s protest on Wednesday.
Members of the group had held the protest across Bengaluru, demanding immediate implementation of the Karnataka government’s rule that at least 60% of an establishment’s signboard must be written in Kannada.
In videos shared on social media, they could be seen tearing down and spraying black paint on some English-language signboards.
This came after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said on Monday that commercial establishments in Bengaluru have till February 28 to comply with the rule.
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedika, however, had set a December 27 deadline for all establishments in Bengaluru to implement the rule.
“We are not against some business, but if you are doing business in Karnataka, then you have to respect our language,” Gowda was quoted by NDTV as saying during the protests. “If you ignore Kannada or put Kannada letters in small [print], we will not let you operate here.”
Gowda had been taken into preventive custody on Wednesday after the police detained him during the protests on the international airport road. His supporters held demonstrations throughout the night, demanding his release.
On Thursday morning, the accused were produced before a magistrate, who remanded them into judicial custody. They were shifted to Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, The Hindu reported.
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