Karnataka - Bijapur   

Legal action against Bagalkot police likely

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIJAPUR, SEPT. 20. The Bagalkot district police may have to face legal action over the illegal detention of a villager for 18 days and the reported custodial torture of those arrested in relation to the violence in Ilkal.

Widespread violence occurred in Ilkal on August 30 over the selection of a successor to the senior pontiff of the Chittargi-Ilkal Vijayamahantha Math. The 180 people who were arrested were released on bail last Thursday.

According to sources, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Hungund, R. Ravi, reprimanded the police on Friday for illegally detaining Mahanthappa Yamanappa Bolutagi from Chittargi village. He also issued three show-cause notices to the officials over the reported custodial torture.

Medical reports

The JMFC also called for medical reports from the Bellary District Hospital, where 35 of the 180 detainees were treated after they were shifted to the Central Jail there. While issuing the judicial remand order, the JMFC had clearly mentioned that the detainees had not received any injuries. However, Mallappa Chalavadi and Siddalingayya Hiremath from Chittargi and Basanagouda Patil from Gorbal had been injured.

Sources said that the police were also accused of altering the judicial remand order issued by the JMFC. The police allegedly added two more names to the list of detainees before handing them over to the authorities of the Central Jail, Bellary.

Private complaints

Mr. Bolutagi' lawyer, B.V. Deshpande, told The Hindu over phone from Hungund that four private complaints would be filed in the coming days against the police officers "who tortured the detainees in custody and conspired to foist false cases against them."

The victims had also decided to approach the National Human Rights Commission, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bolutagi was released from Bellary Central Jail on Saturday. Although the other 179 detainees were released last Thursday, he had to remain in jail, as his name did not figure either in the list of accused shown in the first information report or the bail order.

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Legal action against Bagalkot police likely

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