BENGALURU: BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekhar, who had allegedly tried to end his life by self-immolation and was charged with attempt to suicide, has been acquitted by a court. The court observed that a Police Sub-Inspector had played a major role in registering the case and setting up evidence against the accused.
At about 9.30 pm on January 6, 2019, Shekhar had allegedly attempted suicide in front of the Hosadurga police station in Chitradurga, alleging harassment by police to his supporters. The police had booked him under Section 309 (attempt to suicide) of the IPC.
The trial was conducted in the Special Court to deal with criminal cases related to elected MPs/MLAs. The advocate representing Shekhar had argued that the PSI of Hosadurga station had foisted a false case to bring disrepute to the accused, as they had some enmity, citing a letter that the PSI had written to the SP alleging interference by the MLA.
During the collection of evidence, policemen who were eyewitnesses, had made contradictory statements. It was also noticed from the evidence that a policeman had filed the complaint at the instance of the PSI. While submitting a video recorded from the mobile phone belonging to a police personnel that had no visuals to establish the suicide bid, the police had failed to produce the CCTV footage of the station, claiming it was not working at the time of the incident, and no proof was submitted.
“On meticulous analysis of the entire evidence, there arises a serious doubt as to the case of the prosecution. It is pertinent to note that it is clear that the accused intended to protest against the actions of the police. Even after the incident, he had not refused the treatment. This shows that the accused never intended to end his life,” Special Judge, Justice Shridhar Gopalakrishna Bhat, observed while acquitting the accused.