Cops depose before commission of inquiry

Cops depose before commission of inquiry

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Mar 11: Assisstant Sub Inspector Anantha Murudeshwar stated before Justice B K Somashekhara Commission of Inquiry that speeches made by Congress leaders Ramanath Rai, Oscar Fernandes, Ivan D’Souza, U T Khader, Vinay Kumar Sorake, and others caused communal riots in the district after that church attacks of September 14, 2008. This was his response to a query made by Jagadish Shenava, the advocate for Bajarang Dal. 





Referring to the attack on the Adoration Monastery near Milagres Church, Murudeshwar said that some of the devotees who had come to worship at the Adoration Monastery said that the place was attacked by Bajarang Dal activists, adding that he was not aware of the identity of the attackers at that time. 


When B Ibrahim, the advocate for Christians, questioned the police officer about the media statements made by Mahendra Kumar, the former leader of the Bajarang Dal, claiming responsibility for attacks, he replied that he was not aware of it because he was on duty and could not read newspapers and watch TV news at that time. 


He also said that a person named Henry Monteiro was injured during the Monastery attacks. He said that he had taken Monteiro to the North Police Station before admitting him into Wenlock Hospital. 


Jayanth Kumar, the Mangalore North police constable, said that the district administration had imposed Section 144 on Mangalore and that the announcement was made over loudspeakers too. In response to a query made by Srinivas, advocate for the government, he said that police resorted to light caning when the mob refused to disperse. 


Under cross examination by advocate Ibrahim, he said that he had no idea who masterminded the attack on the Adoration Monastery at the time. He came to know about it only after watching TV news. 


Mr. Kumar also said that he had filed an affidavit on Jan 31, 2009 on the suggestion of Sub Inspector Manjunath and with the help of the police station writer. 


A KSRP constable said that he had filed his affidavit before the commission on September 14, 2008. However, it must be noted the Justice B K Somashekar Commission of Inquiry was constituted only on September 19, 2008. 


Meanwhile, the Commission of Inquiry seeks more time to complete its proceedings. The term of the commission is to end on March 31; however, it has decided to request some more time to complete its inquiry. 


Justice B Somashekara, who is the head of the commission, informed press people that the commission has already written to the government seeking more time. He said that only 100 of the 1,019 affidavits filed before it are pending for inquiry.