Cop suspended following death of Cong. worker in Chickballapur

Police deny charge of lathi charge as cause for death

A senior police officer in Chickballapur has been suspended following the death of a Congress worker in alleged police lathi charge.

28-year-old Vinay, a resident of Chamarajpet locality in Chickballapur, who is said to be a Congress party functionary, died in a private hospital where he was admitted following alleged injuries in the lathi charge.

The incident took place after supporters of two Congress factions clashed on Sunday evening.

State Congress observers had been in the town to receive applications from ticket aspirants for the Assembly segments in Chickballapur district. A meeting was convened at Siddeshwar Bhavan. The sitting MLA K. Sudhakar’s supporters were inside the venue while one of the strong contenders for the party ticket, K.V. Naveenkiran, was outside the hall which visibly upset his supporters.

The supporters of both the factions took up a quarrel in front of the observers.

Mr. Naveenkiran’s supporters later took out a procession after submitting application to the party leaders. They reportedly did not heed to the instructions of the police to vacate the place in order to ensure smooth flow of traffic. An argument ensued and police resorted to a mild lathi charge to disperse the mob at around 7 p.m.

The functionaries rushed Vinay, who reportedly suffered injuries, to a nearby private hospital for treatment. However he succumbed to injuries.

Deny charges

However, the police denied the charges of the functionaries. “Vinay was suffering from fits and heart blockage. He died owing to heart attack”, a senior police officer told The Hindu on condition of anonymity. He did not suffer any injuries in caning, the officer said.

Stone pelting

An enraged mob held protests in front of the hospital as well as Rural police station holding the police responsible for the death of Vinay. They placed his body in front of the station on Sunday night seeking action against the police who according to them were responsible for the death. They also pelted stones at the station.

Superintendent of Police Karthik Reddy has suspended Circle Inspector B. Shivaswamy under charges of dereliction of duty in view of the untoward incidents.

Vinay’s body was shifted to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru for autopsy.