Beltangady: One Killed, another Injured in Police Shoot-Out at Dharmasthala
Daijiworld Media Network- Beltangady (RS)
Updates at 9.00am, IST, May 2
Demoniac Deed of Andhra Policemen - Bajrang Dal calls for Taluk Bandh
In connection with the death of Aithappa (35) an employee of Dharmastala Lord Manjunateshwara Temple's 'Annapoorna' choultry on Friday May 1 due to the indiscriminate and unnecessary firing resorted to by the Andhra Pradesh policemen, Bajrang Dal has given a call for Beltangady taluk bandh on Saturday, May 2. Aitappa is survived by mother Meena (68), wife Vimala (28), daughter Radhika(7) and son Aditya (4). His wife works as a construction worker.
The district administration and the BJP declared compensation to the family of the deceased. While three persons were injured by bullets, five more suffered injuries due to the caning by the Andhra policemen. District superintendent of police Subrahmanyeshwar Rao, along with Beltangady circle inspector Gangi Reddy controlled the mob that went berserk due to the unreasonable and violent behaviour of the Andhra Pradesh policemen. The top brass of the police department are overseeing the law and order situation in the taluk.
The Karnataka policemen had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the mob that started pelting stones at the buses, demanding to hand over the erring policemen to them. A motor bike was damaged. A journalist was injured in the stone pelting while a photographer named Jagadish Jain too was injured.
The policemen have arrested the Andhra Pradesh policemen Dichavar and Suvarnaram, who allegedly fired at the crowd, killing Aitappa. Policemen were later summoned from various places in the district to keep the situation under control. The policemen say, the situation is under control now.
Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner(DC) Ponnuraj said that a judical inquiry will be ordered into the incident. The DC also requested the organizers of the bandh to withdraw their call. In the meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishat and Dalit Sangharsh Samiti have extended their support to the bandh call. Hindu Jagaran Vedike has condemned the incident. The bandh organizers said, examinations and essential services will be exempt from the bandh call.
Dharmastala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade expressed shock at the incident and said that an innocent person had to lose his life due to the imprudent behaviour of the Andhra Pradesh policemen and concurred with the demand of the villagers that the guilty should be punished. He added that he has already spoken to the state home minister in this regard.
While the taluk unit of the BJP handed over a compensation of two lac rupees to the family of the deceased, the deputy commissioner announced a compensation of one lac rupees to the family of Aitappa. The DC also said, the medical expenses of injured Udaya will be entirely borne by the district administration.
Ex union minister B Janardan Poojary and MLA U T Khader have severely condemned the high-handedness of the visiting Andhra policemen.
Two Andhra Policemen Arrested
Updates at 9.30pm, IST, May 1
Two police from the Andhra police cadre, who were the accused in the shoot-out at Dharmastala are taken into custody by Dakshina Kannada Police.
The arrest has been made after the visit of Superintendent of Police, Dr Subrahmanyeswara Rao near spot of the incident and evalulating circumstances he ordered to take stringent action against the culprits.
The injured Uday has been shifted to Thejaswini Hospital at Mangalore. He has sustained serious injury when he was hit by a bullet on his leg.
Meanwhile additional police force has been deployed to the location of the incident where the public vented their anger on Andhra Police who misused their power due mild altercation by the youth against the police without any provocation..
One Killed, another Injured in Police Shoot-Out at Dharmasthala
Beltangady, May 1: One person was killed and another injured when the Andhra Pradesh police opened fire at a group of youth who were playing cricket at Sri Kshetra Dharamasthala near here on Friday evening. The policemen were assigned on poll duty in the taluk and had paid a visit to the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala.
The deceased has been identified as Aithappa while the injured has been named Udaya. Both stay near the Dharmasthala temple and were playing in a ground near the temple with their friends.
A quarrel between the Police and the youth is said to have ensued with regard to a cricket ball.
The ball hit a police when he was in the vicinity of the playground. The boys requested the policemen to return the ball, which the police denied to comply to.
This denial led to an altercation between the cricket players and the policemen.
The quarrel took an ugly turn when one of the policemen fired in the air and later fired at the crowd, resulting in one getting seriously injured while the other escaped with minor injury. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital. However, Aithappa died on the way, while Udaya was undergoing treatment.
The incident has sparked violence in the city of Dharmasthala. Additional forces have been deployed in strategic locations and senior police officials have rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control. Two buses of police were surrounded by the public seeking justice on this incident.
Gopal Hosur, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Western range, informed the media that strict action will be taken against the guilty policemen after a thorough investigation into the matter.
Andra Pradesh police were called to the state on election duty and they were on the way back to their state. They had taken a detour to visit the temple at Dharmasthala.
DC Ponnuraj Announces Rs 1 Lac Compansation to Deceased:
In a press statement issued by the Dakshina Kannada DC Ponnuraj condemned the police firing and said "It is highly unfortunate to note that a horrific terror has been unleashed on our people by the handful of security staff from outside the state who came to provide us security during elections.I am ordering a magisterial enquiry into the incident and most stringent action possible would be taken. I express my moral support to the family members of Ithappa. We are also giving Rs 1 lakh relief to the family of the deceased and medical assistance from the Govt. side to the injured."
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