MANGALURU: Mangaluru City Police summoned a youth for making a baseless social media post accusing the police of not arresting a main accused in the lynching case of a person named Ashraf.
A person named Sajith Shetty from the city had posted on his Facebook wall, accusing the police of not arresting a main accused involved in the lynching case due to certain alleged connections.
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, in a press communique, said that based on his post, the police took cognisance of the possibility that there may be another key accused in the case, as claimed by Shetty.
Accordingly, the Investigating Officer (IO) deemed it necessary to examine Shetty to ascertain the identity of the said accused and to understand whether he possessed any evidence to support his claim.
The Investigating Officer summoned Shetty and recorded his statements. During the enquiry, Shetty stated that he had no concrete evidence against anyone and admitted that the post was made due to personal reasons. “His statement was duly recorded, and he was allowed to leave thereafter,” the Commissioner said.
On Friday, Shetty released another video in which he mentioned that he is experiencing mental distress. The Commissioner said that the well-being of all individuals within the jurisdiction is a matter of concern for the police, and hence appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that he receives psychiatric evaluation and counselling in view of his recent statements and videos.
The Commissioner further said that no individual is above the law and, irrespective of social media following or public profile, anyone connected to a case, whether as a witness or otherwise, is required to cooperate with the investigation under the law.
“All actions taken by the police in this matter are strictly in accordance with legal procedures and the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS),” the Commissioner said.