Udupi: Still in hospital where he is being treated for his injuries, 20- year- old Akshay Devadiga, constantly relives the horror of Wednesday night, when a group of around 25 vigilantes descended on him and his friend, Praveen Poojary, while they were on the road in a vehicle transporting cattle.
“Praveen called me as his goods vehicle hired by one Ramesh Poojary had developed some problem. I didn’t know what it was carrying. The vehicle was repaired and when I was about to leave, Praveen asked me to join him and Ramesh in it,” Akshay, who is recovering, told reporters here.
He said, “We had travelled some distance when a group of about 25 men waylaid us. Seeing them, Ramesh ran away, but we were beaten with iron rods. I was in unbearable pain and could not understand what was happening.”
Although Praveen requested the men to give them water, they did not, he said.
“After a while they put us in the back of the goods vehicle and it was then that I saw it was carrying cattle. They drove some distance and then called the police.
Meanwhile, somebody gave us water. Even in his pain, Praveen asked me to drink, but I gave it to him. He drank a little and died,” Akshay recalled painfully.
