Bengaluru: Agitated over the alleged crude behaviour by the police towards him and his mother, a 27-year-old man from Chitradurga set his scooter on fire in front of the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday.
The suspect, Pruthvi Raj, a resident of Yeshwantpur, rode up to Ambedkar Veedhi in the heart of the city and torched his scooter just opposite the Vidhana Soudha. Bewildered passersby stood dazed and watched Raj’s Suzuki Access going up in flames. Raj is originally from Challakere in Chitradurga.
The incident happened around 3.20 pm, when the stretch sees peak traffic. Police arrived at the location and doused the fire along with the fire and emergency services. Raj was detained and questioned by the police. The official arrest was yet to be done.
A police officer investigating the case told DH that Raj wanted to grab the attention of passersby and send out a message. “He claims that he was infuriated by the Challakere police’s apathy and wanted to draw people's attention to the issue. There appears to be no other reason,” the officer said.
Raj told investigators that the Challakere police manhandled and pushed him when he went for an inquiry. To raise the issue, he set his scooter on fire.
According to the police, Raj had gone for a trek in Shivamogga on July 2 and was briefly unreachable during the trek. His mother grew anxious about the situation and went to the Challakere police seeking help. However, the investigators sent her away without attending to her complaint properly.
When he came back and went to question their indifferent behaviour, Challakere police allegedly shouted at him and pushed him. Over a month after the incident, Raj allegedly set his two-wheeler on fire to avenge the incident and raise his voice against the police.
However, all these are claims made by Raj, but the police are yet to ascertain his statements.
The Vidhana Soudha police have filed an FIR under BNS sections dealing with public nuisance, mischief by fire, and various other sections.
Published 14 August 2024, 16:24 IST