Group assaults 'Daiva Patri'

Barke police, following the directions of Mangaluru Police Commissionerate, have registered a suo motu case after a video clipping showing a Daiva Patri (divine interpreter) being assaulted and was accused as a gay went viral on social media.

A source in the Mangaluru Police Commissionerate said the victim has been identified as Lokesh Poojary from Bikarnakatte. In the video, a group of youths, after questioning Lokesh Poojary at a ground, repeatedly thrashes him. The group, accusing Poojary as a homosexual, even seek an apology. The group next forcibly removed the bangles worn by the Patri and chops off his long hair.

"The police have taken the issue seriously and nobody should take the law into their hands," Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said.