A Karnataka court on Tuesday rejected an anticipatory bail petition or a police official, who has been accused of torturing a young Dalit man, forcing him to drink urine of another cop and making it lick off the floor, while wrongfully keeping him into custody. The court observed the nature of the crime as “most heinous”.
Upon hearing the disturbing details of the incident, Special judge KL Ashok in the Chikkamagaluru court said, “The alleged nature of the incident is most heinous in nature. Not only was the victim urinated upon, but he has been made to lick the urine from the floor. Such an act of atrocity destroys the personal dignity of any person,” LiveLaw reported.
The accused cop, Sub-inspector Arjun Gowda, had filed anticipatory bail in a cases registered against him on May 22, with the Gonibeedu police for several punishable offences under the IPC, including Section 3(1)(a), 3(1)(e), 3(1)(r), 3(2)(va), 3(2)(vii) of SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act 2015.
The court, in its order, said, “Admittedly illegal detention and custodial torture are not part and parcel of the duty of the police officers. Therefore the protection under Section 197 of Cr.P.C., does not come into picture and no prior sanction would be required to proceed against such police officers.”
Twenty-two-year-old Punith KL, a resident Kiranguda in the district, said that he was wrongfully picked up by the accused. While he was kept in custody, he was repeatedly abused by taking his caste name and stripped down. He was then tied up to pole and an iron rod was put across his thighs and hung for hours by Arjun, who assaulted him repeatedly.
When Punith asked for water, the accused cop asked another official Chethan to urinate in his mouth. Punith was then made to lick the urinate off the floor.
Meanwhile, the accused, in his bail application, claimed his innocence and that he has not committed any offence alleged against him. “There are no reasonable grounds to believe that he has committed the offences alleged against him.”
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