Bengaluru: Cops turn goons, kick, rob student; mother narrates story on FB

BENGALURU: Just a few days after a 26-year-old software professional Venky Nallagutla had to undergo a nightmare after he was allegedly beaten, robbed and abused by the traffic policemen on the night of Independence Day, a young student was beaten, kicked in the ribcage and robbed of Rs 1, 000 by unruly policemen near BTM Layout on Friday night

The student’s distressed mother has taken to social media and narrated the horror of police brutality. The woman, Sangita Nambiar, posted details of police brutality against her son on the official page of Bengaluru police on Sunday afternoon.

The complaint read, “I've thought hard before writing this, but I do see the need to. The day before yesterday, my 20-year-old son was about to cross the road to get an auto at BTM Layout, when two cops on a bike randomly stopped him and asked to check his bag which he let them. They kept giving him dirty looks while checking the bag. Then one of them opened his wallet and took '1,000 out of it. My son didn't protest because he felt that's what they had stopped him for.”

The complaint further read, “The other insisted he was a suspect in some case and wanted to take his picture on his phone. By now my son was really scared and told the cop not to do that. He got slapped again and again. The other cop told him to allow his photo to be taken otherwise he'll keep getting hit. So he let him. They gave him his bag, but not the money they had brazenly stolen and my son hurried towards his friends' flat. He turned around to see if they had gone. The cop assuming that he was abusing them drove his bike straight into the apartment complex and the two goons beat him up. Pummeling him to the ground and kicking him in the ribcage.”

The aggrieved mother, whose son was beaten mercilessly and is still under trauma, questioned, “What kind of Bengaluru is this, where young boys become soft targets for unscrupulous cops? No one came to his rescue either. Obviously believing my son was some criminal because after all these are cops in uniform. That night he spent in his friend's house, too traumatized to venture out.’

Ms Nambiar further wrote that her son said that the police routinely scammed college students outside college off their money and roughed up the youngsters for no fault of theirs.

“I'm not saying all cops are bad. But want to emphatically say there are some really scary ones out there. This is most shocking, and I just felt like telling people who love Bengaluru and the police themselves who are trying ever so hard to create a friendly face for Bengaluru Police that this is why no one believes you.

This is why no one wants to help another citizen. And this is why very few help accident victims on roads. We only half trust you are here to help us. We don't want to be made another victim. Our own interaction with police as adults has been always very good. But to have your own son beaten up like a common criminal by cops, for no fault of his, is shocking beyond belief,” she added.

When Deccan Chronicle reported the matter to DCP (South-East) Dr Boralinagaiah, he said that quick action will be taken against the guilty cops. “My inspector informed me about the complainant approaching them. I assure the people that Bengaluru police is here to help citizens and if the charges found true, appropriate action will be taken. Police has also asked the complainant to approach us and help us identify the men." The victim towards late Sunday evening approached Misco Layout police station and narrated the incident to the cops.