Hubballi, Dec 8: Rumours that a youth died of injuries after he fell off a motorcycle when a police constable tried to stop him for riding without helmet, resulted in tension in the central business district in Hubballi on Monday night. A police motorcycle was set on fire.
Although soon after the incident the youth was shifted to hospital and doctors declared him out of danger, by the time the news was conveyed to the protesting public at the accident site, the damage was done.
Soon after the incident, angry protesters caught hold of a motorcycle belonging to a traffic police alleging that the youth fell off the motorcycle because in his bid to stop the youth, the police constable grabbed the backpack he was carrying, resulting in his fall. Soon, some more joined the protest, and the police motorcycle was set on fire.
As the rumours started spreading, tension gripped Babasan Galli, Belgaum Galli and Mysore Store Junction. Meanwhile, fearing violence, shopkeepers downed their shutters.
Senior police officials, who rushed the spot, had a tough time convincing the protestors that nothing had happened to the youth, Fakirayya Patadayya Hiremath (30), a native of Kunnur village in Shiggaon taluk of Haveri district, who was going to his native place from his workplace in Yallapur. It was only after an hour following the incident that the police were able to disperse the crowd.
On visiting the spot, Police Commissioner Pandurang Rane told presspersons that the youth was out of danger. He clarified that the youth, who was drunk, lost control of the motorcycle when a constable signalled him to stop and fell off the motorcycle, suffering a head injury. He said that medical test had revealed that he was drunk and he had admitted to having had a drink with his friends at Kalghatgi.
He said that they would initiate steps against those who set the police motorcycle on fire.
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