13 arrested for assaulting policemen, damaging patrol vehicle

Motorcyclist’s death had triggered angry protests near Hinkal flyover in Mysuru; police release video explaining the sequence of events on Monday

Thirteen persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on policemen and damage done to a PCR vehicle after a motorcyclist, while reportedly evading checking by traffic police, was run over by a tipper-truck on the Outer Ring Road near Hinkal flyover here on Monday.

Based on the videos of the mob going berserk that were circulated on various social media platforms, the Vijayanagar police, acting on the three complaints, including two from the policemen, arrested 13 people and sent them to judicial custody on Tuesday. They are searching for four more persons believed to be behind the incident.

A traffic police sub-inspector attached to V.V. Puram Traffic Police Station and a police constable were beaten 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 civil contractor Devaraj, a resident of Bogadi here.

Speaking to The Hindu, Deputy Commissioner of Police A.N. Prakash Gowda said the 13 arrested persons had been booked under various sections and three criminal cases had been registered in Vijayanagar police station over Monday’s incident.

The cases had been booked under IPC Sections 353, 332, 307, 143, 144, 148, 149 and 341, he said.

Police gave the names of the arrested as Venkatesh, Vinay, Madhu, Dandappa, Raghu, Swami, Arun, Somashekar, Akshay, Srikanth, Vasanthkumar, Mariswamy and Mohan.

The accused are aged between 25 and 35. The tipper-truck driver, Dhananjaya, has also been arrested while the truck owner Bharat and a few others are absconding.

Meanwhile, the police on Monday night released a video where a person, named Suresh, claiming to be a friend of the deceased and who was riding pillion on the motorcycle, explaining about the incident. In the video, the person says there is no connection between the incident and the traffic police conducting vehicle checking. “Both of us were wearing helmet, and Devaraj had all documents with him. A few metres before the place where the police were conducting checking, a tipper-truck hit the bike from behind and I was rendered unconscious. When I gained my consciousness, I asked for Devaraj and I was told about the incident,” he said, giving a clean chit to the traffic police who were blamed for the incident.

Through this video, the police countered the accusations against them and argued that the mob linked the accident with the police conducting checking which was untrue.

The two policemen who were attacked by the mob were being treated in a hospital.

Mr Gowda said the jurisdictional police are further investigating the incident.

Also, the police have also clarified that the police vehicle that was damaged in the violence had insurance and the social media post alleging that the insurance for the vehicle had been expired was false.

Mr. Gowda said the PCR vehicle KA-55 G-0430, a Maruti Ertiga LDI model, has been insured till the midnight of December 19, 2021 and it is insured in the name of Commissioner of Police, Mysuru.

The insurance cover has been given by the Karnataka Government Insurance Department (KGID), Motor branch, Bengaluru, he further said.

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