Bengaluru: Dalit man alleges torture, electrocution in police custody

A Dalit man has written to the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court and the Human Rights Commission accusing the Bengaluru police of torturing him. In the letter, accessed by TV9 Kannada, Rajesh A alleged that he was subjected to torture by the Ramamurthy Nagar police. The 29-year-old claimed that he was held in custody ‘illegally’ by the police for 12 days – from September 4 to 15. He also alleged that he was beaten mercilessly by the police and his genitals were electrocuted in many instances.

According to Rajesh’s letter, he was surrounded by seven people near the B Narayanapura bus stop and taken to the police station. At the Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station, he was allegedly stripped by police sub-inspector Shivraj. Rajesh alleged that a video was also shot by the police. The Dalit man further alleged that based on Inspector Melwin Francis’ orders, he was taken to the top floor of the police station and beaten mercilessly. Unable to bear the pain, Rajesh urinated. Angered by this, the police personnel allegedly spilt urine on the youth.

Rajesh claimed that the police forced him to confess to a crime he had not committed and later took him to a hospital to treat his injuries. “They told me to tell the Victoria Hospital staff that I had injured myself after falling from the bike. They tortured me again after returning from the hospital and applied chilly powder on my eyes and wounds,” Rajesh said in the letter. Rajesh demanded strict action against the police personnel and also requested in the letter to release his impounded two-wheeler.

However, the police officials have refuted the allegations and said that Rajesh had attempted a robbery and was scared that he would be arrested. It is for this reason, he has levelled these allegations, they said. The police also claimed that they had a video of him in possession of a dagger. The video accessed by TV9 Kannada shows two men on a bike, where the pillion rider is seen holding a dagger. However, it was not clear if the one with the dagger was Rajesh.

Courtesy : News9live

Note: This news piece was originally published in news9live.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights .