Hindutva activists brutally attack migrant workers, call them terrorists'

Chikkamagaluru, Jul 26: A group of Hindutva activists brutally assaulted two migrant workers from northeast India after calling them Bangladeshi terrorists' near Alduru town in Chikkamagaluru taluk on Monday.

The injured have been identified as Ohijul Sikdar (32) and Tamsorali, both were part of a group of labourers from Assam. Among them Sikdar was seriously injured when a gang of 10 activists pushed him, and hit his head, back and limbs. He was lying on the road unconscious by the time police reached the spot.

The police rushed him to the government hospital in Alduru and later to the district hospital in Chikkamagaluru, where he is said to be recovering.

The incident happened around 8.30 p.m. when around 60 people, including a few children, from Assam, all hired by various estates as plantation workers, reached Alduru town in a private bus.

The workers from Assam had reached Bengaluru by train. As there was no KSRTC service on the day, they hired a private bus to reach Alduru.

As they were walking towards their respective estates, a group of Hindutva activists stopped them and asked them go back to their native land. They allegedly called them “terrorists from Bangladesh” and said they should no longer work in Chikkamagaluru. They picked up an argument with two of them and beat them up, according to the complaint registered in Alduru Police Station.

Following the incident, Alduru police registered a case on charges of attempt to murder and rioting against 10 people. Six of the accused were arrested by Tuesday morning. The arrested are Tejas, Sharat, Shivakumar, Manu Kumar, Rohit and Sudarshan. “Four other accused are absconding,” said K. Santosh Babu, Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police.