Police inaction led to Ramanagara lynching, claims fact-finding report

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Ramanagara: A fact-finding team's report has alleged that cattle trader Idrees Pasha’s murder recently was the result of police negligence. The incident occurred between the late hours of March 31 and the wee hours of April 1 near Sathanuru village’s Santhemala Circle in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagara district.

The team of advocate Sivamanithan, Dr Sylvia Karpagam, Siddharth KJ and Khasim, Shoaib Qureshi and members of All India Jamaithul Quresh (Karnataka) spoke to the Circle Inspector (CI) of the Sathanuru police station, who is the investigating officer and Superintendent of Police (SP), Ramanagara district, eyewitnesses, survivors and others.

The victims, deceased Idrees and survivors Irfan and Zaheer Pasha hailed from Mandya city. The team said the incident occurred only 600 metres from Sathanuru police station. The SP said there were only three cops at the station then and that a patrol vehicle had missed the vigilantes.

\“If the police had immediately apprehended all the attackers and had urgently searched for the victims, it is possible that the life of Idrees Pasha could have been saved,” the report claimed.

Kerahalli out on bail, 11 cases against him

The victims were accosted by vigilantes led by Rashtra Rakshana Pade founder Puneet Kerehalli, who has 11 similar cases against him but is out on bail in this one.

“A vehicle driven by Zaheer Pasha who was accompanied by Irfan and Idrees Pasha and carrying 16 animals, was stopped by five persons including Puneeth Kerehalli near the Santhemala Circle in Sathanuru village. As per the statements made to the fact-finding team, Puneeth Kerehalli and his associates were armed with sticks and cricket wickets,” the report read.

“After stopping the vehicle, Puneeth Kerehalli alleged that the vehicle was transporting stolen animals. But when the driver denied this stating that they had receipts issued by the RMC Yard from where they had bought the animals, Puneeth asked them to call the owner of the cattle and send Rs 2 lakhs,” it said, adding that Idrees refused to comply. The report said that the trio tried to drive on but upon being threatened, made a run for it. Zaheer was the first to be caught by the vigilantes.

“Around this time a Police Constable from Sathanuru PS who was withdrawing money from a nearby ATM, arrived at the spot and took one of the attackers and Mr Zaheer to the police station with him on his two-wheeler,” it said, adding that the other attackers weren’t apprehended.