Buses Torched, Schools Shut as Congress Protests DK Shivakumar’s Arrest

Buses were set on fire and schools and colleges closed as a precaution on Wednesday as the Karnataka Congress called a statewide bandh to protest at the arrest of DK Shivakumar, its troubleshooter. The Enforcement Directorate detained him after questioning him at length, invoking the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Violence in Shivakumar’s strongholds

Protests broke out across the state soon after the arrest of the Kanakapura MLA and turned violent in Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagaram districts, his political base. The Bengaluru-Mysuru highway was blocked by Congress supporters, and stones were thrown at four KSRTC buses. The bandh was expected to affect Bengaluru and traffic on the Bengaluru-Mysore route, and schools and colleges in the districts were closed.

On Tuesday night, more than 10 buses were burnt and stones thrown in Satanur, after which police asked the state transport corporation, KSRTC, to keep its buses off the roads in Ramanagara until cleared. Mysore-Bengaluru services were curtailed and diverted via Magadi and Huliyurudurga, and police halted public buses at Bidadi. A police advisory said the Bengaluru-Ramanagaram-Mysuru road was blocked by protests at Ijoor circle. Security was tightened near Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s home and BJP offices in Congress strongholds.

Court appearance and reactions

Officials said Shivakumar would be produced in court on Wednesday, where the ED would seek his custody for questioning. Supporters gathered outside the ED office shouted slogans and tried to stop officials taking him for a routine medical check-up.

Posts on Shivakumar’s Twitter account called the cases against him “politically motivated” and urged supporters not to lose heart, saying he had done nothing illegal and trusted God and the judiciary. The Congress condemned the arrest as “high-handed tactics and vendetta politics” and said it was an attempt to distract people from the government’s failed policies and the state of the economy.

See also: Indian National Congress | Political leaders

Originally published on 4 September 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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