Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Thursday said that he would look into the complaints of police brutality and misbehaviour with women protesters demanding increase in minimum wages for the organised sector workers and other demands in Gulbarga on September 15.
Presspersons who witnessed the police “highhandedness” on women protesters explained the way in which the police misbehaved with the women and the absence of the women police personnel during the protest, and how the entire operation against the women protesters was handled by the men police personnel.
The Chief Minister who did not had any answer for the queries in this regard from the presspersons, remarked: “I will look into the complaints and do the needful.”
The presspersons had a harrowing time at the hands of the police personnel on Thursday while covering the programmes attended by the Chief Minister and at the national flag hoisting ceremony near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue here as part of the Hyderabad Karnataka Liberation Day celebrations. The Chief Minister himself had to come to the assistance of the television cameramen and the photo journalists, who were manhandled by the police personnel.
Mr. Yeddyurappa told the police personnel to be cautious while dealing with presspersons who were performing their legitimate duties. In another incident, editor of Kannada eveninger “Sandhyakala” D. Shivalingappa was allegedly assaulted by a police official in the city while he was proceeding to cover the Hyderabad Karnataka Liberation Day celebrations at the S.M. Pandit Auditorium attended by the Chief Minister.
Mr. Yeddyurappa expressed shock over the incident and said that the police personnel had no right to assault anybody, particularly journalists. “I will take appropriate action against the official and assure you (journalists) that this kind of incidents will not be repeated in the district,” he said.
When the journalists insisted immediate action against the official who assaulted Mr. Shivalingappa, the Chief Minister said that he would inquire about the incident during his review meeting with the officials and take action against the official. He also promised the journalists that concrete action would be taken to streamline the functioning of the police in the district immediately.
Meanwhile, the police on Thursday foiled an attempt the workers of the Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane (JMS) led by State Secretariat Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) K. Neela demanding a judicial inquiry into the police lathi-charge and atrocities committed against the women workers protesting against the government inside the Vikas Soudha complex.
Over 30 protesters, many women, were coming in a procession from the City Central Bus Stand towards the Sardar Vallabhai Patel chowk when the police personnel stopped them at Rashtrapathi Chowk and arrested them.
Another group of the CPI(M) and CITU workers led by the State secretariat member of the CPI(M) Nityananda Swamy staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s demanding judicial inquiry into the police lathi-charge and release of all the arrested leaders of the CITU and CPI(M) unconditionally.
