BELAGAVI: Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, hit out at Belagavi City Police Commissioner and alleged that he tortured Legislative Council member and BJP senior leader C T Ravi, who was taken into custody by Khanapur police after FIR was filed against him for his statement against state Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.
Ashoka said, “The police station has become a Congress party office. As elected members, we have been sitting here for the last 4-5 hours. The Police Commissioner is not giving the acknowledgement. The Police Commissioner tortured CT Ravi, he was bleeding from the head. Entire Karnataka has ‘goondaraj’… The BJP will protest tomorrow. I want to tell the police officers, this is not a permanent government. Think of the law and order”.
CT Ravi’s advocate Chetan said, “As soon as we received information, we immediately rushed to Khanapur Police Station. We were prohibited from entering the Police Station at the gate itself for about an hour. Every accused has the right to meet his counsel during his police custody or whenever he is interrogated. Despite that, we were not allowed to go in for 1.5 hrs. When we met C T Ravi, he said he wanted to lodge an FIR since there were threats to his life. One complaint was drafted but the FIR was still not registered by the police. This is nothing but high-handedness. BJP MLAs and MLCs will take up the matter in the assembly tomorrow”.
He further said that the police are expected to be impartial despite any government ruling in any state. “CT Ravi was injured while police were forcefully taking him. This is like the emergency situation. We will file complaint before the National Human Rights Commission as well as the Karnataka Human Rights Commission”, he added.
He further said that a complaint was drafted but the FIR was not registered by the police. “We told the Commissioner of Police that they can register a zero FIR if the offence is committed outside the jurisdiction of the Police station. Commissioner of Police was not ready to register the same,” he further said.
Belagavi City Police Commissioner Iada Martin said, “From the perspective of law and order, we will not disclose the next location where CT Ravi is being taken.”
Earlier Laxmi Hebbalkar alleged that BJP MLC CT Ravi called her with “obscene word” after the words were exchanged between CT Ravi and Lakshmi Hebbalkar when the BJP MLC allegedly called Rahul Gandhi a drug addict. The Legislative Council members of Congress filed a complaint with Chairman Basavaraj Horatti after the comment.
Meanwhile, on the basis of Hebbalkar’s complaint, CT Ravi was taken away from Suvarna Soudha by the police and taken into custody. After an FIR was filed over his alleged “derogatory remarks” against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, BJP MLC CT Ravi on Thursday refuted the claims, calling them baseless.
“It is the habit of the Congress to make false allegations. They did it against Home Minister Amit Shah, and now they are doing the same to me,” CT Ravi said. The FIR was filed at the Hirebagewadi Police Station in Belagavi after a complaint was lodged by Hebbalkar. (ANI)