Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (DV)
Belthangady, Feb 25: The police here have booked a person from Dharmasthala reported to be a BJP worker for allegedly causing the death of a youth belonging to scheduled caste by assaulting him on February 23 in front of Ram Mandir in Kanyadi, Dharmasthala village. The victim Dinesh succumbed to his injuries in city's Wenlock Hospital on Friday, February 25. The police have accessed CCTV footage of the assault.
The accused Krishna alias Kitta from Dharmasthala had allegedly assaulted Dinesh in a petty dispute and later made a false statement at the hospital that the victim had an accident.
Photo grab from CCTV footage
It is reported that Kitta runs a shop in front of Ram Mandir in Kanyadi. It is said that he got angry when Dinesh openly in front of his shop stated his role in creating some land records for Kitti. Kitti allegedly dragged Dinesh around and landed some heavy blows on his abdomen and kicked him to the ground.
After the assault, the injured Dinesh complained of severe stomach ache with his mother Padmavathi and wife Kavitha on the same day. The family members reportedly asked accused Kitta to take the victim to the hospital since they could not afford his treatment.
However, Kitta along with Dinesh's wife shifted him to the Wenlock hospital on the next day, i.e., Thursday. The accused, in a bid to conceal his crime, allegedly lied to the hospital staff that Dinesh had fallen from the steps. However the very next day, Dinesh failed to respond to the treatment and breathed his last. Later the victim's mother Padmavathi lodged a complaint in the Belthangady police station.
The complaint also states that Kitta is working for BJP.