Duo was attacked on the footpath amid rains by two bike-riding men; The Cubbon Park police allegedly dilly-dallied to take a complaint
The havoc created last Thursday by nine cm of rain is unforgettable for most Bangaloreans. But a central government employee, B R Ravishankar, 51, and his son, Sharath, 22, an international bank analyst, will be haunted by a different memory for some time to come.
Around 6.30 pm, the duo, along with two older women, was going towards their car parked near the Central Library in Cubbon Park when they were reportedly almost run over – and then brutally assaulted – by two policemen in civil clothes who were riding rashly on the footpath to avoid the traffic jam caused by the rain.
When the victims questioned the cops and advised them to ride on the road, the men reportedly began abusing the victims in filthy language. The rider allegedly bashed Ravishankar with his helmet, emblazoned with the Bangalore City Police logo, causing injuries on his face, forehead and neck. Though the latter began bleeding profusely, he continued to hit him and threatened to have the victims implicated in a false case and thrown behind bars. The pillion rider reportedly beat up Sharath, while several commuters and passersby are said to have watched mutely.
Following the incident, the victims rushed to the Cubbon Park police station to lodge a complaint, but the cops there dilly-dallied.
Ravishankar is the branch manager of a government-run insurance company in Chitradurga, while his family lives in Vijaynagar. He was in town since his mother had passed away a few days ago. The two women with them on that day were his sister and sister-in-law, one 64, the other 65.
“We were returning from a shop outside Cubbon Park. As soon as we entered the park from the Kasturba Road side, we began walking on the right side of the pavement towards the Central Library where we had parked our car. Suddenly, we noticed two men on a grey-coloured moped speeding dangerously on the pavement towards us. They yelled at us to get out of the way, but we had nowhere to go as the road was blocked with traffic. When I advised them to ride on the road, the men got enraged and began hurling abuses at me and my son. I told my son to take a photograph of them and their vehicle, but even before he could take his phone out of his pocket, the rider and pillion had gotten off the bike and attacked us,” recalled Ravishankar, speaking to Bangalore Mirror.
“They told us they were policemen and could get us arrested if they wanted to. As soon as they left, all four of us rushed to the Cubbon Park police station to file a complaint, but were made to wait. After being sent to Bowring Hospital for treatment, we were forced to spend the night at the hospital, due to the rain. When I realised that the police had not filed an FIR even on the next day, I shot off an email to the police commissioner with details of the incident. I received a reply stating my mail had been forwarded to the DCP (Central) and it was only on September 28 that a case was registered. So far, I have not yet been called to identify anyone,” Ravishankar added.
