Pics: Joshwa D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JD)
Mangaluru, Jul 9: "There is a communication gap between the police officers and the government and hence instances of police officers committing suicide are on the rise," said Justice Michael F Saldanha, former judge of the Bombay high court.
Addressing a press interaction at Gallerie Orchid here on Saturday July 9, Justice Saldanha said, "In normal cases we complain about the atrocities meted out by police personnel but we do not think about their welfare and hence become prone to the suicidal mindset. Even DySP Ganapati suffered from depression for many years and eventually took his life. The thought of suicide does not strengthen all of a sudden. He must have undergone many experiences that led him to commit suicide.
'Role' of DySP Ganapati during church attacks
The retired judge also pointed out that three police officers, namely DySP Ganapati, who was the Kadri circle inspector then, SP Satheesh and Jayanth Shetty were the ones who 'implemented' the 'state-sponsored' violence on many innocents in Kulshekar and Permannur. "As per the video footages of CNN and BBC, when the prayer session was in progress the police entered the church and sealed the place. When all were sitting quietly they started the lathi charge on nuns and the other people. The police also went to the altar and beat the priest and the alter was vandalized. When I enquired these officers they said that they had the then home minister Dr V S Acharya for support and no one could harm them," he said.
"In Kulshekar DySP Ganapati ordered lathi charge in the girls' school premises which was run by nuns and the nuns were beaten black and blue. As many as 51 people suffered head injuries, 70 people had one or more fractures and as DySP Ganapati said, he was transferred from the Kadri station," Saldanha recalled.
"Any life lost is sad. I personally do not support death penalty. If there are people who abetted DySP Ganapati's suicide they must be subjected to inquiry. A man who is about to die does not lie. Public inquiry must be launched if an atmosphere of trust has to prevail. Whether it is CBI or CID, none of the agencies can do justice to DySP Ganapati," he said.
On illegal transportation of cattle
Saldanha also pointed out that cattle are being illegally transported to Kerala and slaughtered. "A farmer rears the cattle like his child in the farm. But a few people come with all the weapons and take away the cattle in an inhuman way right in front of the farmer. The first thing they do is break the legs of the cattle and tie their mouths. About 4-5 cattle are stuffed inside an Omni and transported without any fear of the law. In the last 5 years, more than 30,000 cases have been registered against such people but none of them has been convicted. The reason being the ridiculous laws we have.
"We are the number one country in the world in beef export but we do not have even a single farm rearing cattle for export, like the ones in western countries. In the Middle East, the Indian cattle meat is sold stating it is a green meat as the cattle graze on greenery. But do we need to sacrifice our cattle to feed the Middle East people."
"To overcome this, we need to change our food habits. We need to launch a national campaign to support vegetarian food and bring a national policy for food consumption. This will be a solution for all the issues," he opined.