Kolhapur violence: K'taka Police on high alert in bordering Belagavi

Following the violence in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district over a social media post eulogising Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan, the Karnataka Police are on high alert in Belagavi which shares borders with the district and have stepped up vigilance to avoid any untoward incidents.

The police stations across the Belagavi district have been alerted to step up patrolling and send out a warning against indulging in any incident of violence. Additional forces have been sent to the villages and towns bordering Maharashtra.

The police have intensified patrolling in Nippani, Koganolli, Boragaon, Akkola, Yaksamba, Bedkihal, Manakapura, Sidnala, Mangura and Chandura regions of the district which have large Marathi populations. The police are making announcements on mikes for the public not to believe rumours.

Police sources also confirmed that the cyber wing is keeping a hawk eye on the social media posts and also directed the officers to collect information on messages circulated in WhatsApp groups.

In Kolhapur, the police had resorted to lathi-charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse protesters at Shivaji Chowk despite prohibitory orders. Incidents of stone pelting between two groups was also reported. The police detained 20 people and shut the mobile Internet services in the city till Thursday afternoon.