ADGP refutes charge; phone sent to forensics

Even as the senior police official P. Ravindranath refuted allegations of photographing a woman at a coffee shop on Cunningham Road here, the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the High Grounds Police in the case refers to the two photographs of the complainant in the cellphone. The police, who have seized the cellphone, have sent it for forensic examination.

The police said that the phone, which was seized with the SIM card, belonged to P. Ravindranath, Additional Director-General of Police, Karnataka State Reserve Police Force. It was his personal mobile phone. The official on Tuesday continued to use his official phone.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda confirmed that the phone was seized.

Two photographs of the complainant were found in the phone, the FIR, a copy of which is with The Hindu , said.

However, Mr. Ravindranath, while refuting the allegation, said: “A man on the first floor of the coffee shop, who was possibly the woman’s friend, rushed towards me, assaulted me and snatched my mobile phone. He had my mobile phone till late evening, when the police seized it. I want the man to be investigated for the alleged pictures in the mobile phone,” he said.

Meanwhile, the victim has, in her complaint, alleged that the man, whom she hasn’t identified, also assaulted her when she tried to snatch his mobile phone.

The woman has said that she and her friend were at the coffee shop when the man started clicking their pictures with his mobile phone. She stated that she questioned the man for the objectionable behaviour and asked for his mobile phone. However, the man tried to leave the coffee shop in a huff. The woman said that when she asked him again to hand over the mobile phone to her, the man assaulted her. Just then, another customer came to her rescue and snatched the mobile phone from the man.

Refutes charge

Mr. Ravindranath has alleged that the entire incident was engineered by his colleague to malign him due to professional rivalry. He said that he did not take any picture of the woman. He said that the woman came there all of a sudden and started accusing him of taking her pictures.