Relatives of a man protested in front of a police station at Haroorgeri in Belagavi district, complaining that he died of police excesses on Friday.
One of the protesters was a police officer from Raichur. Ashok Sadalagi, serving as the police inspector in Deodurg, hails from Haroorgeri near Raibag. He alleged that his father, Annappa Sadalagi, died due to physical and mental torture from the officers of the Haroorgeri police station. He accused police sub-inspector Malappa Pujari of bringing Mr. Annappa Sadalagi to the police station and assaulting him over an old dispute. The protesters sought action against Mr. Pujari and others.
The police have denied this. Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar S. Guled told reporters in Belagavi on Saturday that the charges were not only false and baseless but also made with mala fide intentions.
“A preliminary inquiry has revealed that there has not been any assault on the victim in the police station by police officers. Investigators have confirmed this after scanning CCTV camera footage of the police station. Annappa Sadalagi died of a heart attack at the KLE Hospital in Belagavi after being admitted for nine days. He was admitted as he had breathlessness and difficulty in swallowing. He had undergone heart surgery several years ago and had a stent inserted in 2017. He died 28 days after his visit to the police station. He had gone to the police station of his own volition on January 10 to register a complaint about a separate issue. He later filed a complaint with the SP’s office saying the local PSI had scolded him. This is different from the claims made by the relatives that he was beaten up. An inquiry had been ordered based on the complaint of the deceased,” Dr. Guled said.
The body was handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem, the police said.
