If police don't act, they will: Bajrang Dal warns

Dakshina Kannada: Hindu right-wing outfits in Karnataka's coastal districts, particularly in Dakshina Kannada, warned that if the police don't act on drugs and entry of minors into pubs, they will, IANS reported.

Bajrang Dal district convener Punith Attavar told the media that if the police fail to act, the Bajrang Dal will take care of it and ensure that no one misuses the law or misguides the younger generation in Dakshina Kannada district.

In the meantime, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) met BJP MLA Vedavyasa Kamat regarding the incident of college students partying in a Mangaluru pub being set back. VHP demanded action against pubs operating beyond time limits. They asked the MLA to check drug peddling among college students, and Kamat assured them that he would speak to the police.

Punith Attavar claimed that the Bajrang Dal activists informed the police and took members to the Recycle pub, where minors were consuming liquor and indulging in other activities. He maintained that no law was violated or no one was harmed.

However, the incident of students being sent back from the pub has incited a debate on Hindu organizations practising moral policing in the state. In 2009, 40 Hindu right-wing activists (Sri Ram Sena as per Wikipedia logs) crashed into a pub named "Amnesia- The Lounge" in Mangaluru and beat up many young women and men, reaching international headlines.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashikumar stated that information would be gathered from the students who were sent out from the pub, and further action would be initiated. There is no provision for outsiders to carry out checks in pubs.