Belagavi assault row: Senior officials of Karnataka and Maharashtra hold talks on resumption of inter-State bus services

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told reporters in Bagalkot on February 25 that if the problem was not resolved at the level of the officials, he would speak to his counterpart in Maharashtra.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike members held a protest rally in Belagavi on February 25 against the recent attack on a NWKRTC conductor over a language row.

They gathered at the Rani Channamma Circle in Belagavi and held a rasta roko protest for over an hour. They raised slogans against pro-Marathi groups and activists in Belagavi.

They alleged that some local leaders, including ministers, were following Marathi appeasement policy and demanded them to stop doing it. They demanded action against the police officers who, they said, had acted under political pressure and registered a POCSO case against the conductor.

They alleged that some district administration officials had yielded to the demands of pro-Marathi groups to issue copies of government documents in Marathi, and sought action against them.

When the protesters refused to disperse after some time, police took them away. Some were carried away. All were taken into custody, and were released later, police said.

Earlier, KRV had given a call for Balekundri Chalo, a protest in Chikka Balekundri village where the alleged offence occurred. Following an appeal by Minister Satish Jarkiholi, the venue was changed, KRV sources said.

KRV president Narayana Gowda and Deepak Gudaganatti led the protest. Earlier, the leaders garlanded the statue of Kittur Channamma.