3 vigilantes involved in amnesia case

Three persons, Subash Padeel, Manu and Ganesh, who led the attack on Amnesia pub here on January 24, 2009, had masterminded the “raid” on Morning Mist homestay and attack on youth partying there on Saturday in full media glare.

Mangalore Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told Express that in order to give a touch of authenticity to the attack, staged under the guise of protecting culture, the attackers had even assembled hundreds of people with the help of a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator.

“Our first priority was to escort the 13 victims, locked in a room in the homestay, safely through the mob waiting outside,” Singh said.

The commissioner who rushed to the homestay from the airport in plain clothes was mistaken for a member of the vigilante group by the women victims. They fell at his feet pleading to be saved from others. Singh ensured that the youth were safely taken to the nearest police station.

At the same time, Padeel was giving interviews to local TV channels accusing the police of being lax in taking action against “revellers”.

Annoyed with his attitude, Singh grabbed Padeel by his collar and slapped him on the face.

Immediately, other police personnel thrashed Padeel with lathis. Singh then ordered his men to provide medical treatment to Padeel who had sustained a bleeding head injury.

All the while, the police officers, including Singh, did not know Padeel’s identity. It was only when police begun rounding up vigilantes at 3 am, they realised that the kingpin was Padeel who was already in their custody. 

Slaps From Women Cops

Padeel and seven others were on Sunday remanded in judicial custody till August 10. All of them were thrashed by police personnel in a secluded place before being taken to the district jail, highly placed sources said. Then, they were stripped to their underwear and women constables delivered tight slaps on their faces, sources said.