Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Aug 5: A shop owner in the city has complained to Bengaluru city police commissioner, alleging that police personnel from Yalahanka station there have forcibly taken away gold bar and cash belonging to the jewellery shop. The shopkeeper said that the police visited his shop in the guise of investigating a case of purchase of stolen ornaments by the shop, and confiscating the items so purchased.

Partner of M T C Gold Testing shop, A Sathish Rao, said in his complaint that police personnel of Yalahanka police station barged into his shop, thrashed the staff there, and snatched away gold bar weighing 180 grams, and Rs 55,250 in cash besides the cellphone of the staff.

"Six persons arrived at the shop in an Innova car at about 5 pm on July 19. They made one of the persons accompanying them to call staff of the shop, identified as Sadashiva Achar, seeking the ornaments pledged in a bank here to be tested as he wanted to sell the same. Achar, trusting the caller, went near the bank, whereupon he was forcibly taken in the vehicle that started moving towards Bengaluru," he stated.

When Achar tried to call the shop owner, the police snatched his cellphone, Rs 55,250 in cash and other items from him. After covering some distance, they made Achar, the person they had brought with them, and a middleman named Chandrashekar, to get down from the vehicle. They clicked their photographs and acted like calling the media. In the meanwhile, Sadashiva Achar was physically and mentally tortured. "During this period, the concerned tried to call me but my phone was not reachable. Sadashiva then called my brother, Mohan. Mohan replied that he would talk to the concerned only if they come to the shop," the complainant said.

The six persons then reached the shop and introduced themselves as police personnel from Bengaluru. They alleged that brother of the owner, Sathish, had bought stolen ornaments from middeman, Chandrashekhar. Mohan told them that all the dealings of the shop are through the bank and they never deal with individuals. He also asked the concerned to return the next day as his brother was not in town. The police told him that they would take away staff of the shop to Bengaluru and asked him to come there. When he refused, they forcibly took away a gold bar weighing 180 grams from the shop and got a blank paper signed by the shop employees. But in the inquest report, they showed as if only 140 grams of gold ornaments were seized.

Sathish Rao has asked the police officers to take legal steps against the police who robbed cash and gold and recover the robbed items.