Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)
Beltangady, Jun 18: Dr Harish Kumar, assistant commissioner of Puttur sub-division, assigned with the task of holding the magisterial inquiry into the firing incident by the Andhra Pradesh policemen on a group of youngsters playing cricket in Dharmasthala on May 1, held the first hearing here on Wednesday June 17. Out of 22 people who adduced evidence by coming to the witness box, nine gave their statements in writing.
Out of the witnesses, three said they were eye-witnesses to the incident. Every one described the gory details of the firing by the arrogant and intoxicated policemen from Andhra Pradesh, who were returning after attending poll duties here.
Babu, elder brother of Aitappa from Ashoknagar, Dharmasthala said with tears rolling down his eyes that he was at home as it was a holiday on account of May Day. He was waiting for his younger brother Aitappa to come home for lunch at around 3 pm, when he heard commotion outside and asked other family members not to venture out of home. He said, he was about to go out to the ground to see what had happened, when a lad came running and told him that Aitappa had been shot at. "Blood was oozing out of the chest of my brother. The local policemen were there when I asked the Andhra Pradesh policemen to shoot down me too. I tried to enter their vehicle to force them to kill me. But I was stopped by the local policemen," he explained. He said, his brother lost his life because of the policemen who were intoxicated with power and drinks.
Babu also said, a strong smell of liquor was in the air around the Andhra Pradesh policemen. Others too stressed the fact that the misbehaving policemen were intoxicated and behaved like ruffians.
Srinivas Shantalike, Bhaskar Manjatil, Seena Kanyadi, Harish Gambheer, Sudhakar, Chandrashekhar Sharma and Harish were some of the witnesses who came up to explain what had transpired that day.
The assistant commissioner said the next hearing will be held on June 22 and asked the members of the public to come forward and record their statements. He invited the public for submitting photographs and other information that might be helpful in bringing out truth about the incident. "The policemen involved will be summoned to appear for inquiry and the report will be submitted soon," the assistant commissioner said. He also met Uday, who had been injured in the incident.
The incident as explained by the witnesses was roughly as follows:
A group of youth were playing cricket in a maidan near Dharmasthala Sri Kshetra Manjunatheshwara temple when the local youth by the name Chandrashekar Sharma fell on the AP policemen, when he was trying to catch the ball. Despite the fact that Chandrashekar apologized profusely and begged for pardon, the policemen continued to verbally abuse him. The local policeman Rajesh tried to pacify both the youth and AP policemen. The AP policemen, who were irked by intervention of the local policeman, turned their ire on him. By that time, the other AP policemen sitting in their bus rushed down and began caning the youth, while one of them fired a shot at the mob and hit an innocent victim Aitappa, who was walking by the road at that moment. The bullet also hit the leg of Uday, who was hospitalized later. The local policemen arrested the AP policemen and reported the incident to Puttur sub division assistant commissioner Dr Harish Kumar.