Mangalore, Nov 17: Communal tension prevails in B C Road following the assault of a couple of rickshaw drivers in the area late into the night of Nov 16, Monday.
Sources revealed that Ashok and Keshav boarded an auto rickshaw at 9:30 p.m. in Bantwal and instructed the driver Majeed to take them to Ajjibettu. When they reached Ajjibettu School, the passengers objected to the charges and got into a verbal quarrel with Majid. Their friends arrived on the scene and the group assaulted the auto rickshaw driver. Majid later lodged a complaint at the local police station.
The same night, at 10 p.m., Iqbal and Salam decided to avenge the assault on a member of their community. They boarded an auto rickshaw and instructed the driver Harish to take them to Kodange School. At the said destination, a group stopped the auto rickshaw and damaged it badly.
The atmosphere in Batwal is tense. Police had to resort to lathi charge in Kaikamba too, where an unruly mob had gathered.
The State Reserve Police have been deployed to the spot to help maintain law and order. ASP Chandrashekar visited the spot and immediately took charge of the damage control operations.
The situation has now been brought under control.