Cops issue statement in Ganjimath assault case on father, minor daughter by Sangh Parivar activists
Ganjimath: Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy on Wednesday issued a clarification regarding allegations that Sangh Parivar activists assaulted a father and his minor daughter at Malali–Narlapadavu.
According to the police, at around 10 am, a Mullarpattna resident, Abdul Sattar, was travelling on a two-wheeler with his 11-year-old daughter while allegedly carrying about 19 kg of beef without any valid documents. During this time, an incident was reported on the Malali–Narlapadavu road, where a group intercepted them.
The Commissioner said that two persons, Sumith Bhandari (21) and Rajath Naik (30), both residents of Yedapadavu, allegedly stopped Sattar’s bike after arriving in a Tata Sumo vehicle. During the incident, the bike reportedly lost balance and fell, causing the girl to suffer burn injuries on her leg after coming into contact with the silencer of the bike.
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Following the incident, Sattar is said to have left the two-wheeler at the spot and fled. Local residents immediately shifted the injured girl to hospital for treatment, the Commissioner said.
Police later summoned Sumith Bhandari and Rajath Naik to the station for questioning and interrogated them separately. During questioning, Rajath Naik initially claimed that he was a medical representative on his way to deliver medicines to Maharshi Hospital. However, upon verification, doctors at the hospital confirmed that no medicines had been delivered, the Commissioner stated.
During further questioning, both men claimed they were heading to a temple, but when questioned separately, they were unable to specify which temple they were going to, police said.
In her statement, the injured girl reportedly told the police that her father was stopped and assaulted with hands.
Police have decided to register a suo motu case against Abdul Sattar for transporting beef without valid documents. An FIR is also being registered against Sumith Bhandari and Rajath Naik on charges of moral policing. Further investigation into the incident is underway, the Police Commissioner said.
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EC hands over probe into gherao of seven judicial officers in Bengal's Malda to NIA
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission of India on Thursday handed over the probe into the gherao of the seven judicial officers in West Bengal's Malda district to the NIA, following a Supreme Court directive.
Observing that West Bengal was the "most polarised state", the Supreme Court delivered a stinging indictment of the state administration after seven judicial officers engaged in SIR exercise were held hostage by protesters in Malda district and directed a CBI or NIA probe into the incident.
In an April 2 letter to the National Investigating Agency, the poll body referred to the apex court's order and directed it to probe the Wednesday incident.
Talking to PTI, a top official of the poll body said the NIA team would reach West Bengal on Friday.
Slamming the state administration for its "complete failure" and inaction over the "deplorable" gherao and attack on the officers during the Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of the voters list, the court also asked the EC to "requisition adequate Central Forces and deploy them at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating the objections".
West Bengal will have a two-phase poll -- on April 23 and 29.
The Supreme Court further said the incident was a "brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers" but also amounted to a challenge to the authority of this Supreme Court.
The top court gave the order after it took suo motu cognisance of a letter from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court detailing a harrowing night where the judicial officers, including three women and a five-year-old child, were held captive by a mob for over nine hours without food or water.
The incident occurred during the SIR exercise in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district, and as per the order, seven judicial officers were gheraoed by "anti-social elements" at a BDO office starting at 3:30 PM on Wednesday.
The officers were rescued by security forces around midnight on Wednesday after they were gheraoed over the alleged deletion of names from the electoral rolls, officials said.
