Police didn't act swiftly to prevent assault on Rashmi, finds probe

'Due procedure followed after unnatural death of ATI staffer'

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has submitted an interim report to the government in connection with the lapses of Mysuru city police during the attack on senior IAS officer Rashmi Mahesh at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) campus in Mysuru on October 15, 2014.

The report stated that negligence on the part of the jurisdictional officers, Police Inspector and downwards, had led to the commotion and law and order problem when the body of a Gazetted Manager was brought to the ATI campus after the post mortem.
On October 15, Gazetted Manager Venkatesh was found dead in a sump at the ATI campus.

He was shifted to the K R Hospital by police, where he was declared brought dead. The body was brought to the ATI campus in the afternoon. A huge crowd had gathered at the campus and when the then Director General of ATI Rashmi Mahesh visited the campus, a few enraged people shouted slogans and assaulted her.

The State DG&IGP had ordered a CID inquiry into the possible lapses of the local
police.

DGP (CID) Bipin Gopalakrishna said that an interim report submitted to the government stated that lower rung officials from the jurisdictional police station have failed to act swiftly to handle the law and order situation.

Police manual followed
The report stated that though Rashmi Mahesh refused to be involved with the inquiry, it was found that the local police followed police manual in handling an unnatural death.

“The inquiry handed over to CID was about possible negligence on the part of the police during the assault on the IAS officer. It was found during the inquiry that procedures were followed by the local police in the discharge of their duties with respect to a case of unnatural death in consonance with the guidelines contained in the police manual.

“The DCP himself had visited the ATI in the morning and supervised the police action. The local police, specially the police officers and the staff at the cutting edge level of police station and sub-division, have not handled the situation swiftly in preventing the repercussions of the incident.

Nothing has come to the notice so far in the inquiry regarding any other superior police officer contributing to the incident in any way,” Bipin said.

The CID officials said that the inquiry still continues for collecting any other relevant information available.
DH News Service