With no breakthrough in investigations four days after the murderous attack on KAS officer S.P. Mahantesh, the family of the 48-year-old appears convinced that a State government agency cannot conduct an impartial probe.
A Deputy Director at the Directorate of Cooperative Audit, Mr. Mahantesh was assaulted close to the residence of the Chief Justice on Tuesday.
“The police are hoping he will emerge from coma and tell them about his attackers. This is ridiculous. What if he had died in the attack? Would the police have closed the case saying there were no witnesses?” said an anguished relative on Saturday as he waited outside the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital where Mr. Mahatesh has been put on a ventilator.
As other relatives also expressed similar views, with some calling for a CBI probe, Mr. Mahantesh's father, S.B. Puttanaiah, asked his family members not to speak to the media.
“I am only bothered about my son's health. Identifying the attackers will not help him recover,” he said.
Panic
Colleagues of the officer who made a beeline for the hospital after work hours on Saturday, conceded that the attack had triggered some degree of panic in the Directorate of Cooperative Audit.
Authorities at the hospital said there had been no improvement in his condition. “He is still on the ventilator and his vital parameters have shown no improvement,” said a hospital spokesperson.
