Mangalore: The offices of two newspapers here were attacked by masked men on Tuesday night.
At 9 p.m., four masked men forced their way into the office of Kannada Prabha and set fire to the furniture in the lobby. They also damaged five computers, printers, and glass panels.
About 30 minutes later, the office of eveninger Jaykirana in an apartment complex was attacked by four men. Computers and furniture were damaged and an employee sustained minor injuries. Apartment residents said a large number of men on motorcycles waited outside during the attack. Offices of some newspapers claimed they received threat calls.
Superintendent of Police A.S. Rao told reporters the attacks appeared to have been carried out by the same gang.
Shimoga and Hassan, which witnessed widespread violence on Monday, remained calm but tense on Tuesday.
Monday’s violence followed protests by Muslim organisations against the publication of an article in a Kannada daily.
The article is a translation of an essay by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on wearing of “burka” by Muslim women, and contains remarks that could be considered religiously insensitive and provocative.
On Tuesday, shops, hotels, business establishments, petrol bunks, schools and colleges remained closed and autos did not ply in Hassan.
Although the Sri Rama Sene had given a bandh call, its activists stayed away. However, the KSRTC operated its services and banks were open.
PTI reports from Delhi:
Shocked: Taslima
Ms. Nasreen, in a statement made available to PTI, said: “the incident in Karnataka on Monday shocked me. I learned that it was provoked by an article written by me that appeared in a newspaper. But I have never written any article for any Karnataka newspaper in my life.”
URL :- http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/03/stories/2010030359050100.htm
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