Bengaluru : A senior police officer was suspended for dereliction of duty and two more people arrested for being part of a mob that assaulted a Tanzanian woman in the city last week, a top police official said on Saturday.
“Assistant Commissioner of Police A.N. Pise has been suspended for failing to supervise the case and trace occupants of the second car before it was burnt in a mob attack,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner N.S. Megharikh told reporters here, reports IANS.
Two more people were taken into custody on Saturday, taking the number of accused arrested to 11. Five policemen – an inspector and four constables – were suspended on Friday for various acts of omission and commission in the case that triggered a national outrage and international condemnation. As part of the inquiry being conducted by Additional Police Commissioner (Law and Order) K.S.R. Charan Reddy, the suspended policemen were also quizzed and their statements recorded to ascertain the sequence of events and lapses.
Meanwhile, Megharikh said that the situation in Soladevanahall is under control. “More policemen have been deployed in the area to maintain peace and law and order. Peace groups have been formed to sort out any issue between the local residents and all foreign nationals, including African students residing in the locality,” he said. In a related development, about 200 African students staged a protest demo at Town Hall, condemning the assault on the 21-year-old victim by a mob vigilantism and seeking protection for all foreign nationals in the city. Holding placards and banners with messages of peace and friendship, members of the Association of African Students in India appealed to citizens of Bengaluru for harmony, mutual respect and co-existence. “As we have come here for higher studies, allow us to do it in peace. We are also like you and others. The world is a family. Don’t discriminate and ill-treat on the basis of colour or race,” an association member told reporters.
