Reddy supporters force bandh on Bellary

Supporters of former Karnataka minister G Janardhana Reddy today pelted stones on two government offices and forced closure of several shops during the bandh call given by them in the district to protest the arrest of their leader by the CBI.

Reddy’s supporters went on a stone-pelting spree, damaging window panes of the Regional Transport Office and Forest Department office near Royal Circle here, police said. They also forced shops and business establishments in Cowl Bazar and Bangalore Road area to down their shutters, they added.

Some staff members of the two government offices were injured in the melee, police said, but could not give the exact number of those injured. A supporter of Reddy, whom the police identified as Sanganakallu Sunkaiah, tried to immolate himself by pouring kerosene on his body, but police foiled the attempt and took him into custody.

Eight platoons of state Reserve police and ten platoons of District Armed Reserve will keep vigil in the city, officials said.

Janardhana and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, the Managing Director of Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC), were arrested by the CBI yesterday and produced before a court in Hyderabad, which remanded them to 14-days judicial custody.