Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Dec 7: A group of four youths allegedly assaulted four persons at Kalathur-Punchalkadu in separate but related incidents under Shirva police station limits here on the night of Sunday December 6. The assaulters have since gone absconding.

Ashok Acharya (25), Rajesh Kulal (29), Kishore Kulal (24) and Dinesh Devadiga (28), all residents of Kalathur-Punchalkadu were allegedly assaulted by the youths and have been admitted to hospital.

As per a complaint filed in Shirva police station, on Sunday night, Ashok Acharya was standing near Punchalkadu bus stop talking on his mobile phone, when a Swift car passed by him at a high speed. Ashok who was taken aback by the speed of the vehicle shouted at the occupants of the car, questioning them on driving so fast.

The car that had gone a little ahead stopped and reversed to where Ashok was standing. The occupants then got out and allegedly assaulted Ashok.

Sources said that after assaulting Ashok, the youths went into a bar, and then Ashok gathered a group of people identified as Kishore, Dinesh and Rajesh and allegedly assaulted the other group of youths, who then escaped from the spot.

In another complaint filed by Dinesh, he alleged that when he was riding towards home, four persons, one of them identified as Assi alias Haneef, came in two bikes and assaulted him near Chandranagar before fleeing the spot.

Also, in a separate complaint related to the case, Rajesh Kulal stated that when was standing near an auto rickshaw at Punchalkadu rickshaw stand, six persons including Haneef and one Dawood came in three bikes and assaulted him with a wooden stick.

On receiving information, Udupi SP Annamalai rushed to Udupi government hospital where the injured were admitted and took stock of the situation.

Following the incident, hundredds of people began gathering at places like Majoor, Chandranagar, Kalathur and Punchalkadu, and a tense atmosphere prevailed for sometime. The police deployed heavy security and controlled the situation.

DCIB inspector T Jayashankar, Shirva SI Johnson D'Souza and others visited the spot.

Community leaders like Baikady Suprasad Shetty, Kuthyar Prasad Shetty, former MLA Lalaji R Mendon, BJP district president Thingale Vikramarjuna Hegde, Mattar Ratnakar hegde, and many others have urged the police to step up the investigation and arrest the accused at the earliest.

Shirva police have registered three cases and investigations are on.