Karnataka Bandh Today Over Belagavi Bus Conductor Attack, Security Tightened

Pro-Kannada groups have called for a 12-hour statewide shutdown in Karnataka today to protest last month's alleged assault on a bus conductor in Belagavi for not knowing Marathi. According to officials, elaborate security arrangements have been made across the state by deploying home guards and the city armed reserve units for the shutdown from 6 am to 6 pm.

The statewide shutdown is likely to disrupt transport services as some auto-rickshaw, cab, and private driver unions have extended their support. However, state-run transport corporations such as Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), will remain operational.

While hotel associations, malls, bars, and restaurants have only offered "moral support", essential services-including pharmacies, hospitals, ambulances, petrol pumps, and metro services remain operational.

Despite the 12-hour shutdown, schools and colleges across the state will remain operational. However, with some transport services likely to be disrupted, the bandh is likely to impact Class 10 students who are appearing for the exams today.

Earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the state government would not encourage a shutdown in the state. "We will protect the interests of the state. Everyone should maintain peace and follow the law. However, I feel there is no need for a bandh," he said.

Some pro-Kannada groups such as the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike factions led by T A Narayana Gowda and Praveen Shetty-have refrained from participating in the protest.

Belagavi attack and the Maharashtra-Karnataka dispute

Last month, a conductor of a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus was reportedly attacked by a group of men for not responding to a passenger in Marathi. According to the conductor's police complaint, a girl had asked for a ticket in Marathi. When he said that he did not understand Marathi and requested her to speak in Kannada, she and her male companion allegedly assaulted him.

The situation quickly escalated when a larger group intercepted the bus and physically assaulted the conductor.

While the police arrested four people involved in the attack, the bus conductor was also booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after the girl filed a complaint alleging 'indecent behaviour'.

A day after the incident, a bus driver from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was attacked in Hiriyur Taluk of Karnataka's Chitradurga district - in what appeared to be a retaliatory act. The victim, Bhaskar Jadhav, was blackened with paint by unidentified individuals. Days later, an ultra-luxury KSRTC bus was vandalised in Maharashtra, with slogans like 'Jai Maharashtra', 'Marathi', and 'Maharashtra Navnirman Sena' scribbled across its body in black paint.

As the tensions deepened, Maharashtra announced a halt to MSRTC bus services to Karnataka. The southern state also reduced its bus services to Maharashtra.