Protests, Lathi-Charge In Karnataka Over Lingayat Community's Quota Demand

Lingayat Protests | Protests over the Lingayat Panchamasali community's demand for quotas turned violent in Karnataka's Belagavi Tuesday after an agitation led by the community's religious head - Basavajaya Mrityunjay Swamiji - was lathi-charged. The protesters were trying to break past a security cordon and march on the Vidhan Soudha, which began hosting the winter session of the state Assembly Monday. The protesters had threatened to lay siege to the Vidhan Soudha if their demands aren't met. In the violence that followed, police conducted a lathi-charge and took a number of lawmakers from the opposition BJP and Mrityunjay Swamiji, as well as many of his supporters, into preventive custody.