Mentally unstable man ‘beaten to death’ by cops in Karnataka, 8 suspended

A mentally unstable man in Karnataka’s Kodagu district was allegedly beaten to death by policemen after violating lockdown norms, following which eight personnel were suspended Sunday, a senior police official said.

IGP Karnataka Southern Range Praveen Madhukar Pawar said the incident involving Roy D’Souza (50) took place on June 9 near Virajpet Town Police Station. According to a complaint filed by the deceased’s brother, D’Souza was taken to the police station after he was found violating lockdown norms, where he was roughed up. “After the assault… D’Souza had collapsed…his mother was called and informed to take her son away. The family then decided to admit D’Souza to a nearby private hospital for treatment, where he breathed his last on June 12,” the complaint said.

A report against the police officers involved in the incident was submitted by the Virajpet Deputy SP. IGP Pawar said, “The decision to suspend eight policemen was taken based on a preliminary report, in a bid to ensure fair and impartial investigation.”

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The police identified the suspended officers as Head Constable M U Sunil and Police Constables N S Lokesh, H J Tanukumar, N H Satish, Sunil M L, Ramesh A, K G Nehru, and B T Pradeep, all posted in Virajpet.

Meanwhile, the police have claimed that D’Souza was roughed up after he threatened its personnel.

The case has been transferred to the state Crime Investigation Department (CID).