Youth abducted, assaulted for questioning road digging

BENGALURU: A 25-year-old man was abducted and assaulted in J P Nagar last week for reportedly questioning workers who were digging up a road in the locality. The workers were laying OFC cable for a private service provider.
V Chethan, a resident of Puttenahalli in JP Nagar, claimed he was abducted in a car, taken to a room in the BBMP office in JP Nagar and assaulted.JP Nagar police claimed Chethan was terrified and traumatized by the incident, but gathered his wits after local leaders came to his support. He filed a complaint on January 7, two days after the incident.
The horror began when Chethan, an employee of a private company, found that 23rd Main Road near his home was being dug up. Vehicular traffic was barred, inconveniencing the public. Chethan questioned the workers and asked them to show the permission letter from the BBMP to carry out the work. The workers reportedly told him that they had the letter and asked him to wait until they made arrangements to bring it to the spot. Then, six persons arrived in a car and asked him who was he to ask for the permission letter.
“I told them that I am a Dalit Sangharsha Samithi activist,” Chethan said in his complaint. “The gang began abusing me and my caste. They slapped me and dragged me into the car. They took me to the BBMP office on 21st Main Road. I learnt that one of the abductors was named Tejas Raj. A local leader, Manjunath Reddy, came to the office within a few minutes. The abductors told him that I was the one who was demanding the permission letter. They kicked me in front of him and asked me to run.”
Chethan alleged the men threatened him with dire consequences if he ever happened to cross them again.
JP Nagar police have registered a case of assault (323), kidnap (363), punishment for unlawful assembly (143), punishment for rioting (147), unlawful assembly with common object (149) and criminal intimidation (506) under the IPC and also a sections under the provision of SC and the ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
JP Nagar police said all the accused persons are at large and efforts are on to nab them. Police said Reddy, husband of Sarakki corporator, Deeplika L of the BJP, will be questioned. Reddy had come to the notice of police previously. He and seven of his associates were arrested on December 7 last year for allegedly assaulting five engineers in their office. JP Nagar police said Reddy and his associates forcibly entered HornOk, a software firm in Sarakki, JP Nagar, after an altercation between Reddy and the engineers at a public playground in Sarakki. He was later released on bail.