Mangaluru: A day after JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy released videos purported to be those taken during the violence in Mangaluru on December 19, Mangaluru city Commissioner of Police Dr P S Harsha has hit back at him for his move.
Responding to the videos released by the former chief minister, compol Harsha said, “Selected parts of videos have been released to the media by changing the order and sequence of the videos. You will get the true picture only if you see the entire video clipping.”
He then emphasised the need for the videos to be analysed in the right order and sequence in order to get to the truth.
“Inquiries of independent organisations, CID, as well as a magisterial probe are underway. The Mangaluru police will hand over all the evidence it has to the investigating officials. We will know the truth after the investigation,” he said.
On Friday, January 10, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy released 35 videos showing scenes from the day in question. Each of the videos show the police in a bad light as they are seen using excessive force to deal with individuals. Some videos show the police forcing shopkeepers to shut shop and even beating them with lathis (sticks). They are even seen attacking students, unprovoked.
The police firing in Mangaluru on December 19, where two persons were killed and several more were injured, has turned into a political battle between opposing sides. While the police and the BJP government have blamed the violence on the protesters, many others claim that it was the police who instigated the fights.
One of the videos released by the former CM shows the police taking aim at protesters and opening fire and in another video, a policeman is reportedly heard asking another to take aim at the people’s genitals.
While the authenticity of the videos has been questioned, HDK claims that they are genuine and that he released them in order to expose the lies of the state government, calling it a “cover-up”. He said that he wanted the people to know the “truth” about what happened on December 19, when two persons were killed and many others were injured in police firing.
HDK has since, received a lot of flak from the members of the ruling party, both at the Centre and in the state.
