Cop assaults senior citizen: Complaint with KSHRC

Human rights activists filed a complaint with the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) against a police official who had allegedly thrashed and kicked a senior citizen in Kadaba police station limits.

A video clipping of constable Pampavathi of Kadaba police station beating and kicking a 75-year-old Ramanna Gowda before the Kadaba fair on Sunday went viral on social media.

Human rights activist Prashanth D’Costa and Unique Abdul Rahiman, who met Gowda at the Kadaba hospital on Tuesday, decided to file a complaint with the KSHRC. D’Costa told DH that the elderly couple had no children and eked out a living by peeling dry arecanuts.

The activists were informed by Gowda that a year ago he had filed a complaint against his relative Karthik at the same station for cheating him into handing over all his saving of Rs 1.75 lakh.

The Kadaba police had not probed the case although Gowda visited the station repeatedly.

The same relative had fooled Gowda’s wife Varija into sharing the PIN of her ATM card. “The relative, using the PIN, had withdrawn all the money in Varija’s account – up to about Rs one lakh,” D’Costa said.

The couple had accused Pampavathi of acting at the behest of Karthik and beating Gowda to discourage him from filing another complaint. Pampavathi, while collecting the statement from the couple at the hospital, reportedly had written in a slip promising to get the amount deposited in their account before April 30, D’Costa added.

Superintendent B M Laxmiprasad has promised to get the handwriting on the slip verified.

Disciplinary action

The SP said in a press release that disciplinary action has been taken against the cops at Kadaba station for not getting Gowda admitted to a local hospital after the beating.

Puttur rural police station inspector had been entrusted with inquiry into the video clipping of Pampavathi thrashing Gowda. The report has revealed that the cop had assaulted Gowda to stop him from hurling stones and coconuts at women police on duty.