Objecting to the Chikkamagaluru police taking two people into custody near an advocate’s office on Vijayapura Main Road on Thursday evening, advocates boycotted court proceedings and staged a protest on Friday.
The advocates alleged that the police had entered advocate Tajasvi’s office without a search warrant. Superintendent of Police K. Annamalai and his team took two people into custody in connection with the recent hunting incident at Tanigebailu Wildlife Range. The SP himself led the team and they noticed four people in a vehicle near the advocate’s office. On seeing the police arrive, two managed to escape.
It is said that Rafeek Ahmed, the prime accused in the case, had contacted the advocate to move an application for bail. However, he was one of the two who managed to escape.
‘No warrant needed’
Reacting to the advocates’ protest, Mr. Annamalai issued a press release on Friday evening saying that there was no need for a search warrant when the SP himself was leading the team. Moreover, he clarified that the police did not actually enter the advocate’s office and only spoke to him outside his private premises.
The SP also said senior officials of the Forest Department had written to him seeking cooperation in arresting those involved in the hunting case. Subsequently, he had designated three officers to the investigation.
On January 1, the Tanigebailu Wildlife Range forest officers had arrested 11 people, including a software engineer from Bengaluru, in connection with the hunting of two deer on New Year’s Eve.
