Agitated protestors, who were demonstrating in support of the strike called by Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Association, vented their ire on bike taxi drivers, cab drivers, and other autorickshaw drivers who did not participate in the strike on Monday. As many as 12 people were arrested and the police registered 13 cases against the people involved in violence during the strike.
According to an official release, the west division police registered seven cases against the violators and were yet to arrest the accused, while the central and south east division police registered one case each and arrested three people in total. Similarly, the north division police registered two cases and arrested six people. The northeast division police registered two cases and arrested three people.
In the early hours of Monday, stones were pelted at a few cabs which were ferrying passengers from the airport to the city. In a similar incident, eggs were thrown at a cab which was plying in Hebbal in the morning. Many cabs and autos were stopped by protesters and threatened with dire consequences to stay off the road or join the protest. There were also reports that some of these drivers were physically assaulted by protesters near Residency Road and Anand Rao circle.
Near the Silk Board junction, where a group of protesters had gathered, the tyres of 20 autorickshaws were flattened. The air was removed out of many such autos and cabs which continued to move on the roads. In the heart of the city, a man was recorded on CCTV cameras removing and throwing away the tyres from a yellow board car.
The tussle between auto drivers and bike taxi riders, which has been going on for some time now, reached its peak during the protest as the former thrashed many bike taxi riders. A protesting group gathered at Mysore Bank Circle by afternoon pulled up a bike taxi which was ferrying a passenger and thrashed the driver when he tried to question their rude behaviour. However, he managed to escape leaving the scooter on the middle of the road.
Drivers of private vehicles were seen at many junctions intercepting cabs and forcing passengers to get down, while thrashing drivers and threatening them. While police personnel were deployed at the spots, most of them were busy pacifying the protesters and ensuring smooth flow of traffic.
