Well-meaning man thrashed by cops for trying to do good

A youth was undressed, dragged in public and beaten up by the Upparpet police for his good Samaritan act on Friday.

Later, when they learnt the truth, they ‘gifted’ him a pair of trousers and shirt, but warned him not to open his mouth to anyone about the incident.

Basanth Vallabha Bhatta (24), an employee of a mobile phone service provider firm, sustained wounds on his chest, shoulders, back and legs in the process.

He told Deccan Herald: “I bumped into Firoz, a youth, at a tea stall. He requested me to call up his fiancee on his cellphone. He told me that his mother is unwell and that he wants a bank account number so that once his fiancee sends money, he can rush home in a train. We narrated the story to the tea stall owner who readily agreed to help. Within hours, Firoz got the cash and rushed to catch the train.”

A little later, Firoz’s mother called up Bhatta and requested him to check whether he had boarded the train. She said she knew her son well and his drinking habits. Immediately, Bhatta ran to the City railway station and was shocked to see Firoz lying drunk.

Around 8 pm, Firoz came to his senses. “We both started walking and as soon as he saw a bar, he rushed into it. I followed him and kept reminding him about his mother's health. Meanwhile, the bar employees thought I was an hindrance to their business and called up the police.”

The police, who came to the spot, forcibly pulled him out of the bar and reportedly dragged him along to the police station. “They were in no mood to listen to me.

They kept swinging their metal lathi at me,” he said.

Till 2 am, everyone who walked into the station in uniform, allegedly kicked and beat him. “Past midnight, Sub Inspector Ramesh gave me a patient hearing. He told me to leave after gifting me a dress,” Bhatta recalled.

While he was about to leave, Mahadev Swamy, a sentry, started beating Bhatta. “Once the constable was tired, he let me go and it was already early morning,” he said.

Neither the Station House Officer nor the jurisdictional senior officers felt sorry for his episode.

They said: “Upparpet is a sensitive police station and we keep picking up many people. At times, we are forced to beat them to get the truth out. It happens, don't blow it up.”

Hope, the human rights commission is aware of the ‘sensitive’ police stations.