Four cops suspended over man’s death in Davanagere

DAVANAGERE: Tension prevailed for more than half-an-hour on Wednesday near the district hospital mortuary grounds in Davanagere when the villagers and relatives of one Marulasiddappa,46, a resident of Vitlapura, alleged that he died in police custody.
In this connection, Davanagere superintendent of police Hanumantharaya has placed under suspension PSI Prakash, SHO Nagaraj, sentry Sheir Ali and constable Rangaswamy, who are all attached to Mayakonda police station.Later, in the presence of deputy commissioner Mahantesh Bilagi, along with senior police officers, the agitators were pacified, and the body was handed over to the relatives after conducting a postmortem, the SP said.
The incident has been referred for a CID inquiry, and CID personnel will soon arrive here and take up an investigation, and the truth will be known, the SP said. Meanwhile, a Rs 4,12,500 cheque as advance ex-gratia was handed over to the relatives of the deceased, as they have booked a case under the Atrocities Act.
The remaining payment of ex-gratia will be made to them after a chargesheet is filed before the court, the police said. Marulasiddappa was taken into custody on Monday evening by the Mayakonda police from his Vitlapura residence, under the pretext of conducting an inquiry, following a complaint lodged by his wife Vrinda, stating that her husband was trying to marry another women. Marulasiddappa’s body was found lying beside the road near Mayakonda bus stand on Tuesday evening. The victim’s relatives lleged that it was a case of custodial death.