Bengaluru: A temple trustee and his brothers were allegedly attacked by a bunch of petty traders when they questioned them on encroachments on the pavements next to their temple in Attur, Yelahanka New Town.
R Varadaraju, 39, the attack took place Saturday, according to the complainant. Based on Varadaraju’s complaint, police have booked the attackers under BNS Sections 115 (voluntarily causing physical hurt to another person), 18 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt using dangerous weapons, fire, poison, explosives, etc), 315 (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace). Varadaraju, who is a trustee for Kashi Vishwanatha temple, stated that trouble began when his elder brothers, Muniraju and Charanraj, requested the petty traders to move their shops from the pavements near the temple. The petty shops, owned by Manoj, Kiran, Arun Kumar and Muniraju, had completely encroached the pavements outside the temple, forcing devotees and other pedestrians to walk on the road. However, the traders allegedly turned violent and hit Charanraj and Muniraju with stones, Varadaraju stated in the complaint. “Hearing the commotion, I rushed to the spot and tried to reason with the traders. But they hit me too. In the melee, my gold chain was snatched by Manoj,” the complaint read.
“Because of these shops, people walking on pavements are forced to walk on the road, affecting traffic. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in Bengaluru Stay updated with the latest Bengaluru news.
“We’ll summon them to the station for taking statements,” an investigating officer said. We will write to Greater Bengaluru Authority, asking officials to ensure that the encroachments are cleared soon. Download the TOI App.