Cabbie kills himself after ‘torture’, kin attack cops

Bangalore: Tension prevailed in Lakshmipuram, KG Nagar in South Bangalore on Saturday evening as friends and family of a 24-year-old cab driver tried to attack cops after he committed suicide following alleged torture in police custody.
Pradeep Eeranaiah Kumar had been taken to KG Nagar police station on Tuesday night after a woman, a tenant in their three-storey building on Madakarinayaka Road, accused him of trying to rape her.He was allegedly tortured in custody, and released on Friday after a friend allegedly bribed a police officer.
Around 6pm on Saturday, when his elder brother Sandeep, a newspaper vendor and businessman, returned home, he found Pradeep hanging from the ceiling fan of the hall. Immediately, a crowd gathered in front of their house.
As the news reached KG Nagar police station, which is around 1.5km away, two cops arrived on the spot on a Cheetah motorbike around 6.30pm. The angry people picketed the two policemen and tried to manhandle them. Sensing the danger, the cops fled the scene. The mob then set the motorbike on fire. Subsequently, additional forces from neighbouring police stations were pressed into service. Cops resorted to a mild lathi charge to control the crowd.
Alok Kumar, additional commissioner of police, said the accused inspector CD Nagaraj has been suspended and a departmental inquiry will be conducted.
Speaking about the rape case, his brother said the trouble started on August 17, when the tenants hosted an alcohol party on the terrace of their building, which irked Pradeep, a teetotaler. “Pradeep objected to the party. Irked by his remarks, the woman slapped him and her husband beat him up. Then, she called the police station and accused Pradeep of trying to rape her,” Sandeep said. Subsequently, Pradeep was taken to KG Nagar police station on Tuesday night.
The building was constructed 10 years ago on land owned by Pradeep’s mother Jayamma. After her death in 2007, Pradeep was staying with his father Eeranaiah and brother Sandeep. Eeranaiah is a clerk with Karnataka Silk Industry corporation, police said.
POLICE HAD DEMANDED A BRIBE
Everyday, I went to the police station with food and water for my son. He would sit inside the cell only in his undergarments, and his body would be full of injuries. I could see blood clots on his thigh, back and shoulders. Police did not allow me to give him water or food and insisted that I pay Rs 90,000 for his immediate release. Pradeep’s friends were also shooed away by police. On Friday evening, Pradeep's friend Babu paid Rs 15,000 to inspector CD Nagaraj and got him out. Feeling insulted by the incident, Pradeep told me today that he wouldn’t live. But I never thought he will take such an extreme step.
Eeranaiah | Pradeep’s father