Thirteen persons have been arrested in connection with a mob attacking police personnel and damaging their vehicle following the death of a motorcyclist on the Outer Ring Road near Hinkal flyover here on Monday.
Based on the videos of the violence that were circulated on various social media platforms, the Vijayanagar police, acting on the complaints from the two police personnel who were thrashed by the irate mob, arrested 13 people and are also searching for five more persons involved in the attack.
A traffic police sub-inspector attached to V.V. Puram Traffic Police Station and a police constable were roughed up and the Police Control Room (PCR) van that rushed to the spot to control the situation was damaged by the crowds following the death of 46-year-old Devaraj, a resident of Bogadi, here.
Four complaints – two from the injured policemen and one each by the police over damage to the PCR vehicle and the family of the deceased – had been lodged in connection with the incident.
Deputy Commissioner of Police A.N. Prakash Gowda said the 13 arrested persons had been booked under various sections and four criminal cases had been booked in connection with Monday’s incident.
The cases had been booked under IPC Sections 353, 332, 307, 143, 144, 148, 149 and 341. Cases had also been booked for the damage to public property.
Meanwhile, the police on Monday night released a video where a person, named Suresh, claiming to be the friend of deceased Devaraj and was riding pillion on the motorcycle, is giving a clean chit to the traffic police, maintaining that the police did not ask Devaraj to stop and both of them fell off the bike after being rammed by a tipper from behind.
Through this video, the police countered the accusations against them over the incident and argued that the mob linked the accident with the traffic police conducting vehicle checking.
The incident is said to have occurred a few metres away from the place where the police were conducting checking. The two policemen who were attacked by the mob were being treated in a hospital.
Mr. Gowda said the jurisdictional police are investigating the incident.
Venting their ire against the police, a group of people staged a demonstration at the Hinkal flyover on Tuesday condemning the police in connection with the death of Devaraj. The protest was led by councillor K.V. Sridhar and former Deputy Mayor Shailendra. Former JD(S) councillor K.V. Mallesh and many others joined the protest.
