In the fourth such incident within ten days, members of vigilante groups dragged a couple of interfaith from a private bus near Mahaveer (Pumpwell) circle and assaulted the youth before fleeing from the place on Thursday night.
The youth from Jokatte was travelling with a Hindu woman on a bus to Bengaluru. A group of vigilantes stopped the bus at Mahaveer circle and forced the couple to alight from the bus. The woman was handed over to her parents who were summoned to the spot. The vigilantes assaulted the youth before fleeing from the place.
Mangaluru Commissioner of Police N Shashi Kumar confirmed the assault on youth and said the youth was recovering at a private hospital. A complaint was registered at Kankanady police station. "All efforts are being made to track down the miscreants who assaulted the youth. Two teams led by DCP (Law and Order) and ACP had been formed to arrest the miscreants," the commissioner said.
Previous instances of interfaith couples being forcibly alighted from buses were reported in B C Road, Moodbidri, Suratkal and Mangaluru. In all previous three incidents, no cases had been registered.