Udupi: In an apparent U-turn in the Hussainabba death case, the Bajrang Dal has given a different version of the sequence of events. Bajrang Dal leader Sharan Pumpwell claimed that other than passing the information about the suspected illegal cattle trafficking, the activists of the outfit were not involved in the case at all. Speaking to media at the Press Club here on June 5, Sharan held the police directly responsible for the death of Hussainabba.
Police have been claiming that accused Bajrang Dal activists in collusion with the arrested cops waylaid the Scorpio illegally transporting cattle on May 30. After the assault, Hussainabba was found dead when he was being taken to the police station. The accused then dumped the dead body 1 km away from the spot where the skirmish took place.
Sharan refuted the claims of the police report. He alleged that the police knew about Hussainabba’s heart ailment. “He could have suffered a cardiac arrest on the way, still the police have registered a case of murder against the innocent activists. We strongly condemn this and demand for a high-level probe on the matter”, he said.
He also questioned the propriety of the actions of the Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi in slapping a murder case even before the forensic reports were published. “How can the SP book our activists for murder even before the post-mortem report is out?”, he questioned. Further, he claimed that there were neither injuries found on the body of the victim nor any weapons recovered at the spot. Moreover, he said that the police had chased Hussainabba’s Scorpio. Police also doubted that the victim might have died due to cardiac arrest. “With this information how can the SP conclude murder?”, he argued.
Further, the saffron outfit justified the act of vigilantism for the failure of the government and the district administration to restrict illegal cattle trafficking. The only official abattoir in the twin districts is at Kudroli in Mangaluru. The Bajrang Dal has been informing the police for several years now and “despite knowing about the illegal abattoirs and rampant cattle trafficking they (administration) failed to take action. As the government has not taken any action, we have taken it upon ourselves to do it”, Sharan said.
For the above reasons, Sharan demanded the immediate release of the Bajrang Dal activists. “We also support the protest called by the BJP on this issue on June 6”, he said.
