Three policemen booked for attacking canteen staff over money at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: A case has been registered against three policemen for allegedly abusing and assaulting staff at an eatery near Alpha Building on the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) premises around midnight two days ago. CCTV footage of the attack on the staff, and the eatery eventually being forced to shut down for the night, has gone viral.The police constables, attached to KIA police, are Gangaraju, Balappa, and Kumar. According to a complaint filed by canteen manager Ajith JS, the incident occurred between 12.30am and 1am on Feb 10 and involved staff member Saifulla Dewan, 22. The trio of constables, who were on patrol duty, went to the Alpha Building canteen around 12.30am and asked for two cups of coffee.
Dewan told the constables in Hindi to purchase tokens from the cash counter by paying cash. Gangaraju allegedly took offence, abused the staff in filthy language, and dared them to ask money from policemen.Gangaraju allegedly punched Dewan in the face and shoulder around 12.55am and threatened him. When others questioned the assault, Gangaraju allegedly threatened them with dire consequences. Ajith stated in his complaint that the canteen serves airport staff working round the clock at subsidised prices.When asked to purchase tokens, Gangaraju allegedly told staff it was their mistake to keep the canteen open after midnight and forcibly stopped them from working. He also allegedly issued death threats to two other staff members — Rajesh and Dilwar — who intervened during the assault. The constables allegedly caused losses by forcibly shutting the canteen. Dewan was later taken to the govt hospital in Devanahalli for treatment.The incident was brought to the notice of police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh Wednesday, who instructed jurisdictional police to register a case and investigate.A senior officer said a case was registered and a report would be submitted to the DCP's office Friday for further action. Kumar does not drink tea or coffee, but he accompanied Gangaraju and Balappa and got into trouble, the officer added.Gangaraju has faced allegations in the past when he was attached to Ashok Nagar traffic police station and other stations, and was even suspended earlier.