Mohan Kuthar
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Nov 14: In a curious incident reported at Mogaveerapatna in Ullal here on Saturday November 14, three persons were assaulted in the sea while they were trying to escape from police by swimming away. Following the incident, tense atmosphere prevailed at Ullal.

A person identified as Iqbal, a resident of Ullalbail, was assaulted with weapons at Kotepura by a group on the night of Friday November 13. In this connection, the Ullal police led by SI Bharati had begun investigation and on Saturday evening, the police team went to the beach near Mogaveerapatna and asked a group of five fishermen who were sitting there to come for questioning.

Frightened by the police orders, the fishermen tried to escape by swimming away in the sea. However, about 100 nauticals off the coast, three of them were confronted by a group on a boat. The group began hitting the fishermen with oars and caused injuries. When one of the fishermen began shouting for help, the other fishermen rushed to their rescue and brought them ashore.

Meanwhile, the assaulters on the boat rowed away and escaped, but they were soon caught by the coast guard, sources said. It is learnt that all of them hail from Kudroli and had come prepared to commit some pre-planned crime.

The residents of Mogaveerapatna condemned the incident and expressed anger at the police. "Every time something happens, the police target Mogaveerapatna and arrest innocents. Because of such attitude, families of fishermen in Mogaveerapatna are living in a state of agony. The young fishermen in this case grew frightened because of the police behaviour and tried to escape by swimming away in the sea. Let the police arrest those who violate the law, but it is not right to take innocents into custody in the name of investigation," they said.

Further investigations are on.