Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady
Beltangady, Mar 27: In connection with the case of a minor boy being abducted and assaulted by a group while attending the Brahmakalashotsava programme at the Janardhana Swamy temple in Ujire, Beltangady police have arrested two right-wing activists.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ramesh Poojary (43), a resident of Perla in Ujire village, and Gaurav Shetty (25), a resident of Nad village.
The Beltangady police arrested them at Attaje in Ujire on March 26, and produced them before the court the same evening. The court granted bail to both the accused.
It may be recalled, the victim, a first PUC student of a private college in Ujire, had gone to the temple’s Brahmakalashotsava programme along with his friends on March 11. At around 8.30 pm, while his friends had boarded a giant wheel ride at the fair, the boy was standing nearby holding their mobile phones.
At that time, right-wing activists Gaurav Shetty and Ramesh, along with others, allegedly approached and questioned him and allegedly assaulted him. When his friends tried to intervene, the group also attempted to attack them.
Amid the crowd at the fair, the group allegedly abducted the boy on a bike and took him about five kilometres away to a deserted area, where more than ten persons assaulted him, according to the complaint. They also recorded a video of him while issuing threats.
After repeatedly assaulting him, the accused reportedly dropped the boy late at night near Sairam Building at Belalu Cross in Ujire. They allegedly warned him not to disclose the incident to anyone, threatening to kill him if he did so.
It is also stated in the complaint that the accused later called the boy and continued to threaten him. Frightened by the incident, the boy reportedly wrote a death note and attempted to take his own life. The matter came to the notice of his family, who immediately lodged a complaint at the Beltangady police station.
Based on the complaint, the Beltangady police registered a case, arrested the accused, and produced them before the court, which granted them bail.