Centre sends additional forces to Karnataka as Cauvery dispute escalates

The Centre rushed ten companies comprising 1,000 personnel of the special anti-riot paramilitary force Rapic Action Force (RAF) to Karnataka to tackle the violent situation over the Cauvery water sharing dispute.

The Centre rushed ten companies comprising 1,000 personnel of the special anti-riot paramilitary force Rapid Action Force (RAF) to Karnataka to tackle the violent situation over the Cauvery water sharing dispute.

Members of the security forces make their way past burning lorries in Bengaluru, which were set on fire by protesters after SC ordered Karnataka to release 12,000 cubic feet of water per second every day from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.(Reuters Photo)

Officials said the personnel have been sent to the violence-prone areas of Karnataka and if need arises, some of the contingents will also be deployed in Tamil Nadu.

These additional contingents will assist the state police even as three such RAF units and an all-women CRPF company have already been deployed in Karnataka in view of the violent protests.

They said 5-10 more companies of BSF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police are also on standby and can be sent in if the any of the two state governments require.

Sporadic violence broke out in Bengaluru, where several buses were set ablaze, and in some other parts of Karnataka as chief minister Siddaramaiah wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalithaa to ensure adequate safety and protection for Kannada-speaking people in the state.

Protests by fringe Tamil outfits erupted in parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, with some commercial and government establishments of Karnataka being targeted.