Udupi: Kaup police arrest three more for assault on students
Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Mar 17: Kaup police on Sunday March 17 arrested three more persons in connection with the assault on students from another community during a bus journey from Manipal to Mangalore.
The arrested are Rafiq Uchila (32) from Uchila, Mohammed Ashraf (21) and Sheikh Siraj (21). Police are interrogating them and gathering more information.
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With this, the total number of arrests in the case stands at seven. On March 14, in a flash operation, police arrested Mubeen (31) of Mallar Pakeeranakatte, Tausif (25) of Mallar Kombagudde, and Jalaluddin (24) and Nasir (21) of Uchila.
The accused are currently lodged in Hiriadka jail and their bail petition is expected to come up for hearing on Monday March 18.
Three students, two of whom were identified as Srinath and Rajesh, were allegedly assaulted for talking to a girl from another community, by a group reportedly belonging to PFI on Wednesday March 13. The incident took place during a bus journey from Manipal to Mangalore. Following the incident, Hindu organizations went on a protest near Kaup police station demanding immediate arrest of and stringent action against the accused. A bandh was also observed on Friday March 15.
The investigations are being led by Karkala DySP Jayant Shety under the directions of Udupi SP Dr Borelingaiah. Karkala circle inspector Valentine D'Souza, Kapu police inspector Archana, Shirva inspector K R Naik, Padubidri inspector Mahadeva Setty and Kaup crime SI Rajendra Nayak and other other police personnel are part of the investigating team.
Meanwhile, JD(S) district president Deviprasad Shetty condemned the incident and said that all political parties and public should join hands and cooperate with the police in their investigation. He warned that as elections were approaching, some people have been playing vote bank politics and trying to create an atmosphere of unrest. "The people who are responsible for creating disharmony should be caught and given stringent punishment by the police," he said.
He also claimed that Rafiq, Ashraf and Siraj had surrendered to the police after JD(S) convinced them to do so. "The incident is an example for all those who lose their way," he added.
Shetty said the police should soon catch the remaining accused too, but at the same time ensure that they do not arrest or harass any innocent. "The police should also see to it that such incidents do not recur," he said.