It is reliably learnt that Police Commissioner PS Harsha, who did not curb his men’s high-handed behaviour, was pulled up by his seniors who have recommended action against him.
MANGALURU: The firing in Mangaluru, which killed two people and injured many more, has come in for sharp criticism from leaders and people alike, with commentators saying that police mishandled the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
It is reliably learnt that Police Commissioner PS Harsha, who did not curb his men’s high-handed behaviour, was pulled up by his seniors who have recommended action against him.
First, while the police manual clearly says that in such a situation, cops should fire at people below their knees, seven out of eight police bullets hit victims above their waists.
Worse, one of the bullets brushed former mayor K Ashraf’s head, while another hit the chest of a student.
In many videos now in public domain, cops are seen firing at the chest level, not above the knees or in the air.
on Thursday | Rajesh Shetty Ballalbagh
Second, a purported video of a police inspector asking his colleagues why no one was killed despite firing several rounds, suggests that their intention went beyond curbing ‘violent’ protests.
The video has become fodder for opposition parties, with former chief minister Siddaramaiah releasing it before the media in Bengaluru on Friday.
Police Commissioner Harsha said in his defence that he was not aware of any such video, and promised to look into it.
He also did not respond to questions on the video of cops smashing a door in a hospital, where the bodies of the dead men, Jaleel and Nausheen, were kept.
The top cop also reportedly gave inflated figures in an attempt to justify police action. Soon after the two killings on Thursday, he said that police “had no option but to open fire as the violent mob attacked and grievously injured them”, after barging into Mangaluru North police station in Bunder.
He had said there were 6,000 to 7,000 people, but reliable sources said this figure was inflated, and that no policeman sustained serious injuries.
Harsha also said that DCP (L&O) Arunangshu Giri’s hand was almost cut off by the agitators, which reliable sources said is not correct. His claims that 33 cops were injured is also inflated, sources said.
On Friday morning, the commissioner told some TV channels that they had arrested 50 people, who in the garb of journalists had tried to enter District Wenlock Hospital where the injured were admitted. He also said that some of them carried lethal weapons.
But at a press conference in the evening, his defence was that since the journalists were strangers to the city, he could not allow them to do a reportage.
In fact, there were only eight journalists, not 50, as he had claimed. Harsha also did not have answers on whether they possessed weapons and why he misled the media.
He also tried to underplay the number of people injured, keeping it at five, while at least 25 civilians are being treated at several hospitals.
