Mechanic alleges police torture

Kushalappa, a 27-year-old mechanic from Mangalore who stays at Abbigere narrated the incident to Deccan Herald: “I noticed a person taking away my vehicle parked in Sunday Bazaar on Sunday, around 1 pm. I asked him to show his identity card when he claimed to be a policeman. He showed the card and took me with the bike to the police station. What followed for the next five hours is beyond my imagination.”

Lodged in cell

He claimed that the police snatched all his belongings and made him to sit in a cell with two suspects held in a theft case. “Two of them, who were not in uniform, locked me up and punched me in the face five times. They beat me on my hands, legs and neck repeatedly. Within no time my legs and hands developed swelling. They directed me to keep jumping which I did for nearly one hour. They took me into a toilet and asked me to wash my hands and legs. Threatening to register a case, they asked me to sign on a paper. I could hardly see and read due to the impact of the torture” he added.

Kushalappa said a person named Ramegowda hit him with cane when he (Kushalappa) wanted to know the content on the paper. He was asked to shell out Rs 500 instead of signing the paper. “I paid him Rs 500 and collected my belongings and returned with much difficulty,” he explained. He said he did not know the names of the two who tortured him as they were not wearing uniform. City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari had asked him to meet on Wednesday to give a statement, Kushalappa said. When contacted, the City Market police refused to comment.