Bengaluru, Dec 20: A delegation of Congress leaders from Bengaluru was detained at the Manguluru airport on Friday due to curfew in the violence-hit port city, where two people died of bullet injuries following the anti Citizenship Amendment Act protests.
"I was visiting Manguluru to meet the families of the two protesters who were shot dead during the protest. We were detained by the police at the airport itself," tweeted former irrigation minister M.B. Patil.
Prakash Rathod, Congress legislative council member told IANS: "S.R. Patil, Nazeer Ahmed, Ugrappa and Basavaraj Rayareddy accompanied Patil in their attempted visit to Manguluru to assess the ground situation in the light of protests and police ban order."
"The Congress leaders went to pay respects to the two people who died in Mangaluru yesterday and meet their families," Rathod said.
However, police detained the leaders at the airport, without allowing them to enter Manguluru and turned some of them back to Bengaluru in a flight, Rathod said.
Right now two leaders - Basavaraj Rayareddy and Patil, are on return flight to the city while the others will board the 5.40 p.m. flight, said Rathod.
"Our party leaders, who had gone to see the situation, have been detained in Manguluru airport. I condemn this act to silence us," said former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah said BJP Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is making Karnataka another Kashmir.
"All rights enshrined in the Constitution are curtailed, he said.
Rathod assailed the BJP-led government for employing dictatorial tactics and impinging on the right to democratically protest.
"We are with the people of India. BJP cannot cow us down by using force. People will also react and the agitation will get bigger by the day," said Rathod.
The port city is under curfew since Thursday till Sunday to maintain law and order and prevent untoward incidents.
Mangaluru is about 350 kms southwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.
Internet data services on mobile devices have been suspended since Thursday midnight for two days (48 hours) across Manguluru and Dakshina Kannada district to prevent the spread of rumours and instigating vested interests from disturbing peace and calm.
About 20 people, including 15 police officers, inspectors and constables were injured in the mob attack in the port city on Thursday when police fired teargas shells and baton charged the protesters as a ban order was in force.
Two persons - Jaleel Kandak, 49, and Naushan Kudroli, 23, protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Manguluru received bullet injuries in police firing, succumbed to injuries at a private hospital on Thursday night.
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