Says woman who was arrested in connection with the ruthless beating of two mentally challenged youth; cops too hold TV journalists responsible
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HM Dharmendra, circle inspector of Bidadil police station, said that the police was holding TV channels responsible for instigating the mob.
Media responsible
"We have footage of the news aired on the TV channels. It is evident that the TV crew encouraged the mob to attack the duo," he said.
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Locals thrashed two mentally unstable men terming them as thieves. When media crews arrived, the mob turned even more violent, and started poking them with screwdrivers, while the television reporters covered the incident live. |
"We have asked TV channels to provide us with the entire footage and are now in the process of building a case," he added.
The public brutality was unrelenting even as video cameras rolled before TV channels aired the news, glorifying the attackers. The police had booked 15 persons but so far, only five have been arrested. The rest are still on the run.
The arrested accused include a woman, Sudha (32), who provided chilli powder that was applied to the wounds of the victims, Shivagangiah and Saravana.
Staged attack
Sudha told the police that media instigated her to act. She claimed that was merely an onlooker, when the attackers asked her to supply chilli powder to rub on the bruises of the stripped duo after they were beaten up.
"The public had just tied them up to a pillar.
They were not beating the two up," Sudha said. "It was the crew members of various TV channels that asked the mob to beat them up to make the entire incident appear more shocking. I was then asked to bring chili powder."
Sudha is the only woman among the accused and is lodged in a women's cell in Ramangar district jail, while the others are in the common cell, under judicial custody.
The Other Side
The TV channels are not ready to own up the responsibility as they said they were only doing their duty to show developments as they were.u00a0
"We were only trying to bring the facts before the viewers, while showing the police who were the mute spectators on the spot," said a director of a Kannada news channel.
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"The police must know what their responsibility is before fixing it on us." he added
