HUBBALLI: The Bendigeri police of Hubballi city have arrested five locals for beating up a youth and also filming the act. The police came to know about the incident after the video went viral on social media. According to the police, the video was shot four months ago at Settlement area of Hubballi and the victim seen in the video hails from Dharwad. The police are yet to trace the victim who has been identified as Sandeep.
Police said that as per the statements of the five accused, the victim had posted a social media post using abusive words against the mother of one of the detained locals. Hence, they hatched a plan to torture him.
The video shows a group of people (of which five are arrested) abusing and beating up the youth. The youth was stripped of his clothes and made to sit on the floor. The attackers can be heard talking in Kannada and Marathi languages.
The arrested are identified as Prajwal, Sachin, Vinayak, Ganesh and Manjunath, all residents of Hubballi. They will be handed over to judicial custody. The police are in search of the victim, following which further investigation will be taken up.
Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Santosh Babu said the incident occurred four months ago and as soon as the matter came to the notice of the police, action was taken. Depending on the statements of the arrested, more accused are likely to be nabbed. “It’s a heinous crime and the police have taken action. The victim is from Dharwad and will be traced soon,” the commissioner said.