Bande case:?Who’ll bite the bullet?

Gulbarga: The role allegedly played by Inspector General of Police (North Eastern Range) Mohammed Wazir Ahmed in getting 11 people belonging to his community removed from the list of rowdy-sheeters has come under the scanner  in the wake of the killing of Police Sub-Inspector Mallikarjun Bande in an encounter with rowdy-sheeter Munna Darbadar.

Following allegations that Ahmed had abused his position by getting the rowdy-sheeters dropped from the list with a “view to help his community” the BJP and  pro-Kannada organizations have demanded his suspension. However,  minority  organisations have backed the officer saying he was being maligned for political gain.

Where lies the truth? According to the order passed by  Additional Superintendent of Police Kashinath Talkeri on November 6, 2013, he had received a set of applications from the office of IGP given by those listed as rowdies with instructions that the charges  may be looked into.

The 11  who submitted the applications  are: Mohammed Abdul Rahim (50), Aleem Mulla (48), Wasim Mulla (24), Altaf Hussan (23), Mukhimiya (30), Firoz Ali, Shaik Javed(30), Mohammed Ali(31), Muzaffar Ali, Jaanimaan(38) and Akbar Hussan.   After the probe, the 11 were dropped from the list.

But what raises doubt  is the alacrity with which the SI, Police Inspector, Deputy Superintendent of Police and  the ASP passed the order.  “It is  natural that these officers would not have acted in  a hurried manner without  directions from higher ups”, sources in the police department said.

Interestingly, the order was passed not by the regular SP Amit Singh but by Additional SP Kashinath Talakeri on the day he  was holding  charge. “On November 6 when Amit Singh was on leave, his absence was taken advantage of and the order passed”, the sources opined.

Were the 11 habitual offenders which necessitated inclusion in the rowdy-sheet? A case was booked against them  in 2007 following a clash at a place of worship at Santhraswadi.  Some time ago the court acquitted them but they remained in the list.

“During the recent Assembly election a promise was extracted from these people that their names would be dropped from the list if they worked for a party. Subsequently,  the order was passed in November dropping them from the list”, sources claimed.

Meanwhile describing the charges as baseless, Ahmed defended the dropping of the 11 from the list saying they belonged to the C category— those who have committed no offences in the last two-three years.