Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Sep 9: Leaders of coastal Congress minorities unit met city police commissioner, T R Suresh, on Saturday September 8 and urged him to take disciplinary action against Bunder station house officer in the city. They said that the police officer concerned had erred by arresting and imprisoning Ashraf from Salethur, Bantwal, who had through a Facebook post, questioned a belief which can be termed as superstition.
Democratic Youth Federation of India too has submitted a similar memorandum to the police commissioner.
In the letter, the leaders drew the attention of the police commissioner about the fact that the right of speech has been bestowed on the citizens of India through its constitution and that no department or officials have the power to deny this right. "If the police officers are over enthusiastic in registering such cases, they should arrest people who have been spreading communal hatred in the society but still roaming free," they said.
They requested the higher officials in the department to see that such incidents do not recur. Congress minorities coastal unit president, U B Saleem, district unit president, N S Karim, Mangaluru taluk panchayat president Muhammed Monu, city corporator, Abdul Rauf, Kinya panchayat vice president, Siraj Kinya, and other leaders were present.
The case refers to a recent post on Facebook which claimed that the recent floods in Kerala were caused because of the permission granted by court to the women in menstrual cycle to enter Sabarimala temple. Ashraf Salethur, in response, had wanted to know how Mangaluru, which is said to be the creation of Lord Parashurama, experienced floods. On the basis of this post, the station house officer of Bunder had register Suo motu case against Ashraf, arrested him after which he was remanded to judicial custody.
Ashraf Salethur, in a complaint handed over to city police commissioner on Friday, said that the Bunder police had registered case against him on the basis of false allegation and that even after obtaining bail, he was being harassed by way of notices.