India, March 22 -- A 12-hour statewide bandh called by pro-Kannada groups to protest the alleged assault of a state-run bus conductor in Belagavi for not knowing Marathi began on Saturday morning amid heightened security. Despite appeals from protesters, most shops across Karnataka remained open, with businesses and public transport operating largely unaffected.

In Bengaluru, activists gathered at Mysore Bank Circle, raising slogans and holding placards, while others staged demonstrations at the BMTC and KSRTC bus stands. Protesters urged bus drivers and conductors to join the bandh, leading to police taking several activists into preventive custody as agitation intensified.

In Mysuru, pro-Kannada activists blocked buses at the suburban...