Continuing their crackdown against those responsible for the attack on a pub in Mangalore, Karnataka police have picked up Prasad Attavar, the convenor of the Sri Ram Sena.

The cops, who were on the look out for Attavar ever since the attack on girls in a pub, managed to detain him in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Attavar was arrested along with Lohith, another member of the outfit. The duo is expected to be produced before court later in the day.

Police sources told rediff.com that they were hiding ever since the incident in an area called Adyar in Mangalore. The police are, however, still looking for another key member of the outfit by the name Dinakar Shetty, who had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police said, in all, there were 40 persons involved in the attack and till now they had picked up 19 of them. Inspector General (Western Range) A M Prasad said interrogations were on to find out their role in the attack.

Meanwhile, state Police chief R Shrikumar will arrive in Mangalore amidst protests by the National Student's Union of India. The union has called for an all-college bandh on Wednesday.

The students have decided to stage a protest in front of the police headquarters in Mangalore. A press release, issued by the union, states that they deplored the manner in which the girls were attacked. They also questioned the manner in which the Sena was operating.

The All College Union in Mangalore too has decided to go on an indefinite strike. The union has given the police time until Wednesday to apprehend all the culprits.