BANGALORE: The Eighth Fast Track Court has convicted four policemen, including a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, and sentenced them to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on each in connection with a lockup death case at Mahalakshmi Layout police station in 1993.
Retired Deputy SP Bettegowda, Inspector K P Gopal, presently working at the City Police Commissioner’s office, retired Head Constable Hanumaiah and Head Constable Ravikumar are the convicted persons. Bettegowda was the inspector of Mahalakshmi Layout police station, while Gopal was PSI, Hanumaiah and Ravikumar were constables in the same station.
The court has acquitted police inspectors Lokanath Kadri, Boregowda, constables Narasimhaiah and Srinath due to lack of evidence against them. The other accused, constable Maregowda, has passed away.
On March 22, 1993, Nanjunda, a resident was Kamakshipalya, had hanged himself with a blanket in the lockup. He was detained by the police in connection with theft case and was kept under illegal detention for about a month. The victim’s wife, Sowbhagya, had filed a case against the policemen in a court and later the investigation of the case was handed over to Corps of Detectives (CoD now Criminal Investigation Department). The CoD sleuths had filed chargesheet against nine policemen.
On Friday, Judge Mallikarjuna Kinikeri found the four policemen guilty and pronounced the punishment. They were convicted for abetment to suicide, trying to destroy evidence, assault and illegal detention. The convicted had tried to destroy the evidence by claiming that they had not brought the victim to station.After he committed suicide, they had disposed the body by burning it at a crematorium. They had created documents claiming they had handed over body to his family.
Comments
0 comment