Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police Praveen Sood has ordered that three cases pertaining to an alleged attack on Bengaluru police in Sanjay Nagar during lockdown be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Incidentally, the incident, which took place on March 26, had also sparked questions over police high-handedness and brutality during the lockdown.
On March 26, two men were arrested for allegedly assaulting police in Bhoopasandra during the lockdown. One of the accused, Tajuddin, was shot in his leg after he allegedly tried to flee police custody. Visuals of both the police being attacked and the man being attacked by the police had gone viral on social media and TV channels. While police had claimed that the accused was booked for attacking the policemen, videos later surfaced suggesting that the accused was beaten by the police.
Three FIRs have been registered against the accused in total. The first FIR was filed on March 25 against unidentified men who were allegedly doing wheelies at the time when the lockdown was put in place. The second FIR was filed after the duo was identified and was in the process of getting arrested. The third FIR was registered when Tajuddin had allegedly tried to evade the police when he was taken to the same spot.
This development of transfer of the case to the CID is seemingly a fallout of an ongoing case in the Karnataka High Court where another Bengaluru man had raised the issue of potential police brutality against the panicked masses after the man was shot allegedly under suspect circumstances.
In a public interest litigation (PIL), Adarsh R Iyer, Co-President and Managing Trustee of Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath demanded that a judicial enquiry be held against the police. In his PIL, he has also questioned the circumstances under which the accused was shot. He has also prayed to the court that the cases be quashed against the accused and that they be given compensation, as Tajuddin may be severely handicapped for his life due to the gunshot.
The case will come up for hearing on April 21, where the state government counsel is likely to respond to the high court’s queries on the government’s stand on alleged police brutality.
“During the entire episode of getting beaten and kicked, the victim was patiently begging the policeman to not harass him and leave him alone. But, to no avail. Only when the policemen refused to give his cellphone back, the victim became enraged as he was going to lose his valuable cell phone and got into a scuffle with the policemen, along with one of his brothers,” Adarsh told TNM.