mangalore today

Goa bound pilgrims create ruckus at Sastan petrol bunk; assault 2 staff


Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Jan 1, 2015 : Two employees of a petrol bunk at Sastan were injured when a group of youth who were on a pilgrim tour in a bus  assaulted them over some issue  late night on December 30, Tuesday. The locals who were angry following  this incident damaged the bus.


Youths on pilgrimage beat up 1


The injured petrol bunk employees  are Prashanth and Santosh.  It is learnt as many as 32 people from Kulshekhar in Mangaluru were on a tour to  Goa for the Exposition of Relics of St Francis Xavier. Enroute the bus had stopped at the petrol bunk at around 8 pm  when two persons in the bus got down and requested the petrol bunk staff if they could use the toilet meant for petrol bunk staff.


Though the staff Santosh permitted the two, later when many other passengers in the bus began rushing towards the toilet, Santosh asked them not to rush. But this  invited the ire of the men and women in the bus who picked up a quarrel and assaulted Santosh and Prashanth. It is alleged that the accused even threatened to set the bunk on fire.

Soon several people gathered, took the bus passengers to task and damaged the bus on noticing a woman recording the happenings in her cell phone. Some of the accused who assaulted the petrol bunk staff have been identified as Snehal, Sunil D’Souza, Ashwin D’Souza, Sylvester Lobo, Dilshan and Melwyn.

 The six  were taken to the police station for interrogation and even the bus seized. Rapid Action Force from Udupi too was pressed into service to avert any untoward incident.

Kota police have registered a case.