Two persons died and eight others were injured following violent protests over the publication of an article on the burqa in �Kannada Prabha�, a Kannada daily, reportedly a translation of an old article written by exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen. This was later denied by the author. She said she had never written for a Kannada publication much less did any of her articles state that the Prophet Muhammad was against the burqa.
Police opened fire on the protestors who were taking out a procession but began burning shops and vehicles. The protest spread to Hassan town and curfew was imposed in both Shimoga and Hassan. Prohibitory orders were clamped in the Dakshin Kannada region after offices of the newspaper�s sister publication, the New Indian Express, was also attacked.
Meanwhile, Bangalore police issued a suo moto case against the Kannada newspaper and an Urdu daily �Siasat�, which carried a brief item about the publication of the article in Kannada Prabha.