Four police personnel from Baje station in Mangaluru were suspended for detaining three Bajrang Dal activists.
The Bajrang Dal activists were booked on a complaint by a Muslim man who alleged harassment by them.
According to the complaint, the Muslim man was stopped from unloaded tender coconuts to shops outside the Kateelu temple. The Bajrang Dal activists were brought by the police for questioning. But, with the intervention of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Eshwar Kateel, they were let off by the police.
However, the three men alleged they were beaten up by the police. Speaking to one of the reporters and pointing at his injuries, one of the Bajrang Dal activists said, “They beat us a lot. On the legs, shoulders….see. But we had a lot of support from organizations such as Ram Sene, and Bajrang Dal. Even leaders like Eshwar Keetal supported us.”
The three men were shifted to another hospital where they were visited by BJP Karnataka state president Nalin Kumar Kateel.
However, the police officers who had detained the three right-wing men are now facing suspension orders and departmental enquiry.
A senior official said that there has been no FIR filed against the three men. They also said that on first impression it looked like an excess force was used on the men. Further investigations are on.
