Mangaluru on edge after RSS activist succumbs to stab injuries, security tightened across district

Mangaluru: An RSS activist, who was allegedly stabbed by an unidentified group at Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district, succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in Mangaluru, prompting police to tighten security in the region. [caption id=“attachment_3790591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. PTI[/caption] Sarath Madivala, 28, a resident of Kandur near Bantwal, was battling for life for three days at the hospital after the attack on 4 July. He died on Friday evening, hospital sources said. RSS leaders and workers thronged the hospital in large numbers on hearing the news of the death. The RSS worker was attacked on the night of 4 July when he was about to leave home after closing his laundry shop at BC Road. After being taken to a nearby hospital by locals, he was later shifted to a private hospital in the city. Defying prohibitory orders, Hindu organisations and the BJP had staged a protest on Friday at Bantwal protesting the attack. BJP leaders, including MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shobha Karandlaje, were arrested during the protest and later released. Police said security has been tightened in the communally sensitive district following the worker’s death. Prohibitory orders are in force till 11 July in Puttur, Sullia, Belthangady and Bantwal in coastal Dakshina Kannada district following recent communal clashes in some areas, according to the police. The orders were initially enforced in Bantwal from 27 May following skirmishes between two groups. Later, it was extended to the four taluks as violence spread. The murder of a Social Democratic Party of India worker at Benjanapadavu in Bantwal on 21 June further escalated the tension forcing authorities to extend prohibitory orders.