Puttur, October 14: Opposing the Yettinahole project, the district BJP team led by MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, had organized a padayatra from Mangaluru to Yettinahole. While the team had reached near Choudeshwari temple in Hade village situated at the border of Dakshina Kannada and Hassan district at around 8pm on Tuesday night, the Hassan district police as a precautionary measure arrested Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Udupi MP Shoba Karandlage including 1000 activists. They were later released.
DK district BJP President K Pratap Simha Nayak informed this matter to the media and said, “The padayatra will not be allowed to move forward into the border of Hassan district. As a precautionary measure you will be arrested, informed the Hassan district ASP Shoba Rani to the MP’s who were moving on the padayatra. Later they were arrested”, he said.
Return to Mangaluru:
Police have later released MP’s Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shoba Karandlaje including all other activists. 250 BJP activists who arrived from Hassan district to participate in the protest were stopped by police and arrested near Donigal in Sakleshpur taluk. The BJP leaders and activists who had been arrested near the Hassan border have returned to Mangaluru along with the MP.
Verbal exchange:
MP’s Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shoba Karandlaje questioned the police that whether they possessed any arrest warrant and demanded to know the reason for stopping the peaceful protest.
During the argument, push and pull took place between the police and the BJP activists. This effected the traffic movement on the highway. In protest against the governments stand, some activists sat on the road and took to protest. Later the situation calmed down.
