Police said the protesters tried to forcefully shut shops and pelted stones when they tried to intervene, forcing them to make a lathi charge to bring the situation under control at Kyathamaranahalli area.

Bengaluru: A protest against the Kathua gangrape incident turned violent at Mysuru on Friday, with police making a lathicharge to bring the situation under control.

Police said the protesters tried to forcefully shut shops and pelted stones when they tried to intervene, forcing them to make a lathi charge to bring the situation under control at Kyathamaranahalli area.

"Some groups tried to forcefully shut businesses, so police intervened. There was some resistance from them as they pelted stones at us. So we lathicharged them and used tear gas to disperse the crowd," Mysuru Police Commissioner Dr A Subramanyeswara Rao told PTI.

He said police would make arrests and added that prohibitory orders had been imposed for 48 hours in the area.

BJP Lok Sabha member from Mysuru Pratap Simha alleged that the protesters ransacked some shops, barged into several houses and pelted stones at women and children and police remained a 'mute spectator'.

The brutal rape and murder of the eight-year-old in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua on 10 January has sparked national outrage.