In pics: Vehicles torched, police station attacked in Bengaluru

Workers of a garment factory took to the streets and blocked traffic on the busy Mysore-Bengaluru highway and set buses on fire on Tuesday to protest amendments to provident fund rules, police said.

Workers of a garment factory took to the streets and blocked traffic on the busy Mysore-Bengaluru highway and set buses on fire on Tuesday to protest amendments to provident fund rules, police said.

Police lathi-charged garment factory workers during their protest against new provident fund withdrawal rules. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

Women argue with a police officer during a protest against the central government’s new rules on withdrawal of provident fund. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

A police vehicle damaged during the protests in Bengaluru. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

Around 20 people were arrested and police fired warning shots as stone pelting protestors attacked the Hebbagodi police station, a police officer said. The mob also set afire vehicles parked near the police station, he said.

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Thousands of garment factory workers at Mysuru Circle in Bangalore on Tuesday. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

The protest against the new provident fund rules caused jams across Bengaluru on Tuesday. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

Police said they had to lathicharge and fire teargas shells to disperse violent protesters in Bengaluru on Tuesday. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

State DGP Om Prakash said the situation went out of control at Hebbagodi and Jalahalli, where reinforcements had been sent. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

The workers have been protesting since Monday against changes the central government mooted in provident fund withdrawal rules.

Workers opposing an amendment to Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 have expressed fear that the new rule will take away their right over employer’s contribution to provident fund till they attain 58 years of age. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

About 15,000 women garment workers on Monday staged a massive demonstration on the outskirts of Bengaluru, protesting changes in the Provident Fund Act. (Kashif Masood/HT Photo)

The central government on Tuesday kept in abeyance for three more months the move to bar the withdrawal of the employer’s contribution to the provident fund corpus until the employee attains the age of 58 years. It later said it was cancelling the notification restricting the provident fund withdrawals.