Terming the videos posted by the police on social media sites as edited and concocted, Rajya Sabha member B.K. Hariprasad on Tuesday said that the truth will come out only in a judicial inquiry.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the families of the dead and also the injured persons at hospitals here, Mr. Hariprasad said that he stands by the accusations and would testify with proof during any such inquiry that the government orders.
The videos of the violence released by the police are from “WhatsApp university” and “Nagpur university”, Mr. Hariprasad said and added that they have selectively been edited to justify police action against protesters. Police action has thrown the standard operating procedure detailed in the Blue Book for a toss, he said and added that police firing was politically-sponsored.
While there were nationwide protests on Thursday last involving people far in excess of those gathered in Mangaluru, the occurrences in the city had a strange aspect. He said that it was not a communal clash, but an uncivilised barbaric act of the police against a community, he said and added that the facts could be established only through a judicial probe.
Mr. Hariprasad demanded enhancement in compensation to the firing victims from ₹ 5 lakh to ₹ 50 lakh. Those injured should be paid ₹ 10 lakh, he said.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao demanded immediate suspension of Police Commissioner P.S. Harsha and Mangaluru East Police Inspector Shantharam. He also demanded a judicial probe into the police firing.
