Tourists extorted

KARWAR: Four youths were allegedly tortured and beaten up by Karwar town police for refusing to pay a bribe for not carrying the documents of the vehicle they were moving around in the town on October 17 night.Among the victims of alleged police excesses is the son and nephew of Karwar city BJP unit's president Vivekanand Baikerikar. One of the victims is a gold medallist in BE and was working in a software company in Bengaluru before returning to Karwar to look after his family business.BJP local leaders along with the victims held a press conference on Saturday and demanded action against sub-inspector Kusumadhar and his staff.Vivekanand said his son Sandesh, his nephew Balakrishna and two of their friends had gone to the beach on October 17. While returning around 10.30pm their car was stopped by Kusumadhar and his staff near the deputy commissioner's office and asked to show the documents of the vehicle.Vivekanand alleged that as the car had Bengaluru registration number, police initially mistook them for tourists and demanded Rs. 5,000. When the youths refused to pay, there was an argument. At that time, a constable, who was part of the police team, tried to snatch the purse of Sandesh. When Sandesh resisted, Kusumadhar got angry and summoned another six constables to the spot. Later all of them brutally assaulted the youths, Vivekanand said.Later the youths were taken to the police station and beaten up again with lathis and leather belts. Vivekanand said adding that when he went to the police station at around 11pm after knowing about the incident, he saw police still beating his son and his friends. " When I tried to stop them, they pulled me out and I fainted in the police station after seeing the condition of my son and his friends' Vivekanand said.Later the youths were presented before the magistrate and sent to jail.The victims said while taking them to the magistrate, Kusumadhar and his staff threatened them not to mention about the torture to the magistrate else they would be tortured further.On October 19, Meera Saxe na, chairperson of Karnataka State Human Rights Commission , had visited the district jail where the youths were lodged. "That time too, the police threatened us not to tell anything to her,'' one of the victims said.Even though, the youths were released on bail by the court on Friday, police allegedly confined them to their houses till Saturday afternoon as Saxena was still in the district. 'Only after she left for Bengaluru, we could come out of the house and speak to media," the youths alleged.The BJP leaders alleged that Kusumadhar and his staff members have been extorting money from tourists who visit Karwar beach during night hours and it has become a menace, they said. They demanded the suspension of Kusumadhar and the staff who tortured the youths. The victims said that they would approach the SHRC and Police Complaint Authority and also file a criminal complaint against Kusumadhar and his staff.