Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Jun 19: Haneef Guddemane from Thokur Jokatte here, who claims to be undertaking animal husbandry, who reportedly was intercepted and beaten up by the moral police, addressed a press meet here on Friday June 19.
Haneef stated that he often undertakes tour of the state for acquiring cattle. He said he had bought ten she-buffaloes on June 13 from Ranennur and obtained certificate from the local government veterinary doctor after which the animals were taken to his village.
He said that he was transporting four out of the ten she buffaloes he had bought to the slaughterhouse at Mangaluru on June 14 when a gang of 10 to 15 members which intercepted his vehicles near Urwa police station dragged him out of the vehicle, rained abusive words at him, made blasphemous remarks about his religion, and hit him with a helmet besides kicking him. He said that one of them held a sabre, the other was having an iron rod while another had a wooden stick. "They attacked me with their arms but I escaped. They thoroughly damaged my vehicle and robbed Rs 7,800 I had with me. They also tied me to the vehicle and assaulted to me. The scene of assault has become viral in social media, which has caused me mental agony. The miscreants ran away when the police came there within minutes. I got treated at Highland Hospital in the city," he stated.
He had requested the Urwa police to register case against the culprits and see that justice is done to him.
He said that as per information he collected, instead of 10 to 15 persons who launched an attack on him, only six were named and charged under sections of the law that are not strong enough, and the perpetrators were released on bail. He said he therefore visited the police station on June 17 and recorded a statement.
Former city mayor K Ashraf, Hyder Jamaat (bother of the victim), Samshuddin, Jokatte gram panchayat vice president, and A K Ashraf Jokatte were present at the press meet.