Belgaum: In the wake of protests against a conference being organised by pro-Maharashtra outfit Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti near here, more than 200 activists of 'Karnataka Rakshana Vedike' were taken into preventive custody on Sunday, police said.
"We have taken more than 200 KRV activists into preventive custody to avoid any untoward incidents at 'Maha Melava', especially in the wake of violent protests carried out by Kannada outfits yesterday," Belgaum SP Sandeep Patil said.
Police personnel were deployed at Yellur village where the 'Maha Melava' (conference) was held today by the MES after three years to make its presence felt in the Marathi-speaking border areas of the State, sources said.
Patil said ten persons belonging to pro-Kannada outfits were arrested for attempting to set on fire a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus near Chikodi and damaging another MSRTC bus in Nipani yesterday.
At the conference, pro-Maharashtra outfits passed a resolution saying till such time the Supreme Court decides on Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue, disputed areas should be accorded the status of Union Territory.
KRV activists criticised the state government for permitting pro-Maharashtra outfits to hold the conference. They also threatened to intensify their protest if any Maharashtra leader spoke about inclusion of borders areas into the neighbouring state.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 19:29