Mangaluru : A group of miscreants gheraoed and damaged a bus carrying college students, who were on an educational tour on Saturday late night.

The students from Mudipu had hired a bus to visit Mysuru and Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru as part of their annual tour programme.

There were 38 students, including 14 girls, and four lecturers in the bus. They were to leave Mudipu at 11 pm and reach Bengaluru at 6 am.

A student, on condition of anonymity, said that the gang stopped the bus and started damaging it. One of the miscreants started questioning a lecturer and later hurled abuses.

The students called the police and the gang dispersed as soon as the police arrived. However, the college authorities cancelled the tour fearing backlash.

“We feared for the safety of the students,” a college official said.

Police sources said the attack was an act of moral policing because girls were travelling late night with boys from another community.

The police arrested four people on charges of damaging the bus and attempting to assault the students.

Those arrested are Praveena, a resident of Kurnad near Mudipu, Manjeswar, Dinesh and Vivekananda.

Place of Worship Vandalised

A religious institution was vandalised in Sambara Thota near Mudipu on Sunday morning.

Following the attack, the town was tense. Konaje police arrested two people for pelting stones at the place of worship and damaging its property. The miscreants have been identified as Ramesh and Thilak, both residents of Konaje.