A bus conductor was allegedly assaulted by a mob in Karnataka’s Belagavi district on Friday after he asked two passengers to converse in Kannada, saying that he did not understand Marathi, the Deccan Herald reported.

The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation bus was on its way to the nearby Balekundri village from Belagavi town.

Karnataka and Maharashtra have been locked in a long-standing dispute over the control of Belagavi, a border town in Karnataka. Parts of the Belagavi district, among some of the other areas of northern Karnataka, are claimed by Maharashtra on linguistic grounds.

The altercation took place after a female passenger, while purchasing a ticket, allegedly asked the conductor Mahadev Hukkeri to speak in Marathi. Some other passengers in the bus threatened to attack him, the conductor alleged.

When the bus arrived at Balekundri, a mob slapped and verbally abused Hukkeri, reported The New Indian Express. A video of the assault was widely shared on social media.

Hukkeri was injured and had to be taken to a hospital.

Following the incident, interstate bus services between Maharashtra and Karnataka were suspended on Saturday afternoon, The New Indian Express reported.

The police arrested three men and a minor girl from Balekundri, The Indian Express reported. Several other suspects in the matter are yet to be arrested.

On Saturday, the police registered a case against the conductor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The case was filed based on a complaint by the minor female passenger, who was involved in the initial argument, that the conductor was allegedly “staring at her and making some signs”, Deccan Herald reported.

Activists from the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a pro-Kannada organisation, protested at the Marihal police station, claiming that the POCSO case against the conductor was false and demanded that it be withdrawn.

They also called for the suspension of Police Inspector Gururaj Kalyanshetti, accusing him of having acted under political pressure.

The Deccan Herald quoted Kalyanshetti as having defended the police action, saying that the POCSO case was filed after the minor passenger accused the conductor of inappropriate behaviour.

On Saturday, vandals attacked a bus operated by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation driver Bhaskar Jadhav in the Guyilal area of Karnataka’s Chitradurga district at about 9.10 pm, reported Money Control.

In response, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik announced that state transport buses would not ply to Karnataka.

On Sunday, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus was painted with slogans such as “Jai Maharashtra”, “Marathi” and “Maharashtra Navnirman Sena”.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has also curtailed its bus services to Maharashtra.

“We have limited the number of buses going to Maharashtra for the time being and are taking all precautions to normalise the situation,” a senior officer from the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation told PTI.

Also read: Explained: Why there is a six-decade long border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra