The Mangaluru Police released videos of stone pelting and arson on their Facebook page on Tuesday, 24 December, claiming that they were videos of the protests that took place in the city on 19 December. The Mangaluru Police also thanked the locals for helping them source "high quality" images of "riots" in the city.
Two people had died in Mangaluru due to police firing last week and two others were injured.
In a Facebook post, the Mangaluru Police said, "Mangaluru city police thanks citizens of Mangaluru for overwhelming support for sharing high quality images of rioteers who formed unlawful assembly and were responsible for widespread violence. We are posting a few of photographs of these rioteers for identification and information about their whereabouts," the post reads.
Though the police handle posted a series of videos, what they ostensibly left out are videos that question the action by the police. One video that had gone viral was of a policeman in Mangaluru who can be heard saying, “We fired so many shots, and not even one person died”.
The police had received flak after the video went viral on social media. The Mangaluru Police, however, did not post this video on their Facebook page and have not stated conclusively whether action has been taken against the said police officer.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha also tweeted on Monday and asked for people to send them videos of the protests that occurred on 19 December.
"I appeal to the public who have any photo or video content regarding riots that happened in Mangaluru city on December 19 to mail it to mangalurunorthmgc@gmail.com or send a WhatsApp message on 9480802327 It would help investigation team in upholding the truth," PS Harsha said.
The series of videos also contained visuals by protesters that appear to be have been caught on CCTV cameras. Two persons can be seen trying to move the CCTV cameras away from the roads.
The police, however, have not given clear answers as to who issued the order to shoot. But they have maintained that the protesters allegedly surrounded the Mangaluru North and Bunder police stations, due to which they opened fire.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called for a judicial enquiry and condemned the police action.
Siddaramaiah also said that the police had not used water jets to disperse the crowd on the streets but had directly resorted to shooting.
(The article was originally published on The News Minute and has been published in an arrangement)
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