In an apparent case of moral policing, a group of people attacked a man who was found talking to a woman from another community near here, police said today.
Suresh was injured in he attack and treated as an outpatient at a government hospital, police said.
An eight-member group, who found Suresh talking to a burqa-clad woman near the bus stand yesterday, objected to it, they said.
The man, belonging to Farangipet, was proceeding to Mangaluru from Bantwal when he met the woman and exchanged pleasantries.
As he proceeded in his car, the group waylaid the vehicle and attacked him besides hurling abuses, police said.
Suresh later lodged a complaint and a case has been registered at the Bantwal rural police station.
Several cases of moral policing have been reported in the communally sensitive Dakshina Kannada district in the last few years.