Bengaluru: Under garb of protests, businessman settles scores with competitor

Bengaluru: While Bengaluru was burning during the protests on Monday, a family suffered for no fault of theirs as a group of ‘agitators’ vandalised the house and an electronics shop due to personal grudge, under the garb of Cauvery protests.

The incident took place on Kanakapura Road in J.P. Nagar police station limits on Monday evening. The police have also arrested seven people in this connection.

According to the police, one, Ramesh, runs an electronics shop and his former employee Nanesh had also set up an electronics shop next to his a few months ago. However, Ramesh did good business, while Nanesh sufferred losses and this had led to fight between the two. While protests erupted in the city on Monday, Ramesh closed his shop fearing attacks. Taking advantage of the situation, Nanesh and his associates allegedly vandalised the shop and also took away electronic goods worth several lakhs of rupees.

The miscreants did not stop there. They barged into a house in the same building, belonging to Thirumurugan, by breaking the doors. They allegedly ransacked the house and vandalised furniture before fleeing from the scene.

It is also alleged that they allegedly molested a 17-year-old girl, a relative of Thirumurugan. Thirumurugan’s wife, Ambika said the vandals broke the window panes and also set fire to a bike that had Tamil Nadu registration. “Though we hid in the bedroom, my niece, who was in the bathroom came out. She was dragged by one of the miscreants, who also pulled her shawl. After a while they left, but upset over the incident, my niece tried to commit suicide by consuming poison. She was immediately rushed to hospital and saved.”

Following the complaint filed by the family and Ramesh, the police swung into the action and traced the miscreants. They have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.