Two undertrials, arrested on the charge of making an attempt to steal a calf near Karkala, were beaten up by a group of six undertrials in the District Jail located at Anjar village near Hiriyadka on Sunday morning. Following this, 26 inmates in the District Jail were shifted to jails in Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru and Karwar, as a precautionary measure.
According to the police, the two undertrials who were beaten up were Irshad and Moideen. They were allegedly beaten up between 9.30 a.m. and 10 a.m. during the breakfast time, when they were going to the kitchen at the District Jail on Sunday.
As per their complaint, those who beat them were Sudeep Shetty, Akhilesh Shetty, Sukumar, Manjesh, Prateek and Prashant Mogaveera. This group also threatened them.
A case has been registered based on a complaint given by Irshad and Moideen under Sections 341, 504, 506, 323 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code at the Hiriyadka police station and investigation is on, the police said.
Irshad and Moideen were arrested on the charge of making an attempt to steal a calf at Kasaba village in Karkala and assaulting a police constable, Chandrakanth, and a Home Guard, who tried to prevent it, at around 3 a.m. on November 26. The two had fled from the scene but were arrested the same evening, the police said.
According to sources in the Police Department, some of those in the group of six undertrials, who beat the two, owed allegiance to right wing groups. As many as 22 activists of right wing groups charged with the murder of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, Praveen Poojary, for allegedly transporting cattle at Kajike village near Hebri in Udupi district on August 17, 2016, were also lodged in the District Jail at Anjar, the sources said.
However, Vishnuvardhana, Additional Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu that whether those beat the two belonged to right wing groups would be known only after investigation.
After the Sunday assault incident, 26 inmates, identified as “trouble mongers” in the District Jail, were shifted to jails in Chikkamagaluru, Karwar and Chitradurga on Sunday night, on the request of the jailor, as a precautionary measure, he said.
