Pics: Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Aug 26: City police commissioner S Murugan on Wednesday August 26 said that 13 persons have been arrested for stripping and assaulting a man after tying him up to an electricity pole at Attavar in full public view on August 24.
Addressing a press meet at his office here, Murugan said that the 13 have been produced in court, remanded in judicial custody till September 7, and sent to Ballari jail.
He did not give the names of the accused arrested, but answering questions from the media, said that some of them belong to Bajrang Dal, one to VHP and some are not affiliated to any outfit.
He also said that except for one, identified as Kishan, none of them have any criminal track record. Kishan was involved in a petty case, he added.
"We arrested 13 accused after examining WhatsApp images, posts on Facebook and other social media, phone calls, CCTV footages and information from reliable sources. We have collected several proofs," he said.
He also said that police are looking for seven others, who include the accused and those who supported the assaulters.
The male victim's oral statement has been taken and case has been registered on charges of rioting, attempt to murder, dacoity and threat to life, Murugan said.
"On the day of the incident, as soon as they got information, the Pandeshwar police rushed to the spot without wasting any time. The male victim left the supermarket at 5.27 pm, the girl left at 5.34 pm, at 5.47 pm they had a conversation, and between 5.52 pm and 6.10 pm, he was assaulted. The police reached the spot within 5-10 minutes," the commissioner said.
"This incident has triggered panic among the public. It is a blemish, and hence the police have taken up this case very seriously. We will take measures to prevent such incidents in future, and we need public support," he added.
Asked if action would be taken against those who circulated the pictures of the incident in WhatsApp and other social media, he said, "We are investigating the matter and it will take time. When pictures go viral on social media it is difficult to find out the exact origin."
To another query, he said the girl involved in the case came late to the police station and her statement has been video-recorded.
"We have collected enough material on the incident and I assure that there will be truthful, honest and sincere investigation into the case.
"There may be many theories floating in the media, but I cannot comment on them. We are sincerely working to protect the rights, privacy and dignity of individuals. We will arrive at the truth," he assured.
Asked if the attack was pre-planned as alleged by some, he said, "It was not systematically pre-planned, but there were some plotters."
About the girl's allegation that the male victim had tried to pull her inside the car, he declined to comment saying its part of the investigation.
"It is our endeavour and desire that such incidents are prevented. We have tried to prevent such incidents and whenever any such thing has occured we have taken strict action without wasting time. If one incident has taken place, 10 have been prevented," he added.
"Police can only work within the ambit of law and action also will be taken within the purview of law," he said.
Though the names of the accused, except Kishan's, were not revealed in the press meet, it is reliably learnt that the arrested are Santhosh Poojary (23) of Karkala, Bhujanga Shetty (26) of Bantwal, Chandrakanth Rao (42), a resident of Bejai, Naveen (42), a resident of Melinamogaru, and Attavar residents Abhiram alias Abhi (23), Kiran (29), Praveen Shetty (29), Ghanshyam Acharya (24), Dhanush (20), Muthuraj (21), Kishan (20), Vivek (38) and Kiran Kumar (25). Muthuraj is originally from Gadag, Praveen hails from Karkala and Kiran from Kundapur.
Among them, Chandrakanth Rao is a VHP worker while Santhosh, Kiran, Bhujanga, Dhanush, Kishan and Naveen belong to Bajrang Dal while Vivek is the treasurer of Hindu Yuva Sene. The rest do not belong to any fringe outfit.