Government drops cases against ABVP activists

In a controversial decision, the state government on Thursday decided to withdraw eight cases against activists of ruling BJP’s student wing - Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

 The decision comes a day after a group of ABVP activists allegedly roughed up a girl student in Bellare in Dakshina Kannada district for not participating the protest organised by them.

 The state Cabinet, which met on Friday, decided to withdraw the cases registered in various police stations in Dharwad, Raichur, Chikballapur, Bidar and Haveri districts. The cases pertain to disrupting academic council meetings, vandalising public property and others.

 THE CASES: Keshwapur police station, Hubli, 2011: ABVP activists booked for stoning buses during protests against the demolition of unauthorised religious structures in keeping with SC orders. Satellite police station, Hubli-Dharwad- 2010: ABVP activists protesting a fee hike vandalised office of Karnatak University.

 Sub-urban police station, Dharwad: Activists booked for disrupting the academic council meeting of the Karnataka University.

 They were enraged by VC’s decision to send his sub-ordinate to receive a memorandum from them.

 Vidyanagar police station, Hubli: Booked for causing inconvenience to commuters by staging a rasta-roko during their protest against Gyana Bharathi Education Trust.

 Lingsugur police station: As a fallout of an altercation between KSRTC depot controller and a few students, ABVP activists barged into the inquiry office of the KSRTC and attacked the controller besides causing damage to property worth `50,000.

 Rural police station, Chikballapur: Booked for assaulting police personnel on bandobast duty during the Governor’s visit to Muddenahalli village. They had even stopped the convoy of the Governor.

 Gandhi Ganja police station, Bidar: Booked for trespassing into the chamber of principal of Ruhi Nursing College and manhandling deputy director of pre-university education demanding cancellation of exams.

 Rural police station, Haveri: Booked for causing obstruction to the construction work of government engineering college. They had damaged vehicles belonging to the contractor