Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Jan 30: The state high court (HC) has refused to entertain a request to drop investigation into a case relating to pelting of stones at the office of income tax (IT) department at Attavar here. The stones were pelted by protesters who were out to register their anger against IT raid on properties belonging to minister, D K Shivakumar.
The division bench of the HC presided over by Justice K N Phaneendra, which heard a writ petition filed by Congress activist, A C Vinay Raj, seeking to withdraw the first information report filed against him, passed the said order on Monday January 29.
Presenting arguments on behalf of the government, advocates said that prohibitory orders were in force in the city on the day of the incident. "In spite of the prohibitory orders in force, purposefully a protest was held in front of the IT office. By pelting stones and vandalizing the place, the concerned caused loss to government property," they said, and sought the HC not to entertain the petition.
The division bench, which heard arguments and counter arguments, came to the conclusion that it would not be possible to close the case at this juncture. After ordering the investigation in the case to continue, it dismissed the writ petition moved by Vinay Raj.
On August 2 last year, IT officials had simultaneously raided several properties and offices belonging to D K Shivakumar and his family members in the city and elsewhere. Branding this raid as having been part of sinister moves by the central government backed by political motives, over 40 Congress activists had come together near the IT office at Attavar where a protest was held. Stones were thrown at the IT office in which window glasses of the office were shattered.
Police personnel of the city (north) station had registered suo motu case against the protesters and registered first information report under several sections of Indian Penal Code like 143 and 147, and took up investigation. Vinay Raj has been named as one of the accused in the case.