Three additional policemen, including a jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), were suspended by Police Commissioner N.S. Megharikh on Saturday. The charges are dereliction of duty for failing to act effectively during and after the mob assault on Tanzanian students.
ACP of Yeshwantpur subdivision Ashok Narayan Pise was suspended following a probe by Additional Commissioner of Police (West division) K.S.R. Charan Reddy. The investigation revealed that the suspended officer failed to carry out the standard operating procedure while handling the case. The report noted that the suspended policemen could have taken the victims to the hospital for medical treatment, which they did not do.
They also did not record their statement or follow up with an immediate investigation or arrest of the people who were involved in the attack. The report noted that the Assistant Commissioner of Police not only failed to handle the situation but also did not brief his seniors properly.
Two more police personnel attached with Soladevanahalli police station were suspended by Mr. Megharikh late on Friday. The suspended officials have been identified as V. Jagadeesh, Chief Head Constable, and C.K. Honnesh, police constable attached to Soladevanahalli station, for failure on their part to handle the situation. “So far, six policemen, including the ACP, have been suspended in connection with the incident,” a senior official said.
The police have arrested two more locals — Chand Pasha (31) and Mounesh (20) — taking the tally to 11.
Meanwhile, the local residents of Soladevanahalli and surrounding areas and some pro-Kannada organisations staged a protest in Ganapathinagar on Saturday, demanding that suspensions of police personnel be revoked. The protesters also submitted a memorandum to T.R. Suresh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North division).
