Catholic associations condemn assault on Roy D’Souza

Kodagu District Christa Seva Sangha, District Roman Catholic Association and various other organisations have condemned the incident of an alleged assault on Roy D’Souza, a mentally challenged person from Chickpet, in Virajpet.

Roy D’Souza passed away recently, due to an alleged assault by police personnel.

Christa Seva Sangha district president K R Baby Mathew said that the behaviour of some police personnel has affected the image of Kodagu police and the district administration.

“The Christian organisations totally support the CID probe. But, if justice is not provided in the death of Roy D’Souza, protests will be held after the lockdown,” he said.

He further said that the CCTV camera footage of the incident, which has gone viral, proves that Roy was mentally challenged.

On June 9, his condition became worse and he had left his house without the knowledge of the family members. Later, he met with a tragic end, which has come as a huge shock for the family, he added.

Baby Mathew said that he was present when the autopsy of Roy D’Souza was carried out in the presence of Madikeri tahsildar Mahesh.

Roman Catholic Association vice president Johnson Pinto and Gilbert Lobo were also present during the autopsy and it was clear that Roy was tortured to death, he said.

No person deserves such torture from anyone and especially not from the police, he added.

KPCC Legal Cell president and senior advocate A S Ponnanna, former chief ministers Siddaramaiah and H D Kumaraswamy have assured of providing justice, he said.

The state government has ordered a CID probe after various organisations and the Mysuru Bishop urged for the same, said Baby Mathew.