Puttur: Policemen assault truck driver, locals outraged
Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur
Puttur, Sep 14: Two police constables on Saturday September 14 allegedly chased and thrashed a truck driver for not stopping his vehicle, and injured him badly. The incident took place near Kumbra here.
The truck driver Mohammed Nazir from Haryana suffered injuries and was admitted to hospital. Police constables Harish and Dayanand allegedly attacked truck driver.
The truck which was plying towards APMC to load arecanut was asked to stop by the police constables near Santyar. However, the truck driver did not pay heed to their signal and continued to drive, which angered the policemen.
The policemen then chased the truck and intercepted it near Kumbra, and reportedly assaulted the driver. Locals rushed to the spot and chaos prevailed for sometime as they started arguing with the policemen.
Sampya police inspector Jagadish Reddy visited the spot and calmed down the crowd, assuring them that he would inform the higher officials about the incident. Nazir who was injured badly in the attack was taken to Puttur government hospital in 108 ambulance.
However, the accused constables claimed that they were attacked by the truck driver when they asked him to produce certain documents. The constables too were injured in the incident and admitted to hospital.
People who gathered at the hospital in large numbers demanded suspension of the two police constables. Speaking to a senior police official, Olamogaru gram panchayat former president Abdur Rehman Ariyadka said, "It is wrong on the policemen's part to assault so badly a person who has come to our state to earn his living. There should be no communal notions among policemen, and higher officials should take care of it," he added.
Puttur block Congress president Hemanath Shetty condemning the incident said police constables should be suspended for their indecent behavior and strict legal action should be taken against them. "If the constables are not suspended, we will protest against the department," he added.
MLA Shakunthala Shetty who visited the hospital said "I will instruct the higher officials to take stringent action against the constables. It is not a decent act by the police officials. We need to respect the people coming from other states," she said adding that she would hold a meeting with district incharge and senior police officials.
Additional SP Shivakumar, circle inspector Suresh Kumar among others visited the spot.
A written complaint was given by Abdur Rehman and Hemanath demanding termination of the police constable Harish and Dayanand. In reply to the letter, police officials promised that they will take action.