Even as CM Siddaramaiah’s close-aide Marigowda surrendered before the police a month after he was ordered arrested by the courts, reporters covering the surrender could not fail to notice that cops in the station were rising from their chairs to salute the accused.
Apparently, this is how the system treats a powerful accused.
It became more than obvious to the watching media that the Mysuru police were in awe of K Marigowda.
Marigowda arrived at the Nazarbad Police Station, following the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea. The moment he entered the station, the inspector, sub-inspector and a few constables in the station promptly rose and saluted him.
They also arranged for him to sit in a respectable place and served him biscuits and packed mineral water.
The inspector however, soon noticed journalists observing these interesting developments inside the station and strictly ordered them to stand 100 meters away from the premises of the station.
The journalists and police exchanged heated words as the scribes loudly queried if the police have imposed prohibitory orders in the area.
Eventually, the Deputy Commissioner of Police intervened and resolved the issue.
So, the Mysuru police seem prepared to go quite far in shielding the accused from any discomfort.
K Marigowda is accused of disrupting Shikha, the DC of Mysuru, from performing her duties and threatening her. He had been absconding for nearly a month. But the police did not know his whereabouts until he voluntarily surrendered by himself.
And he only surrendered after two anticipatory bail petitions filed by his lawyers were rejected by the courts.
One presumes the police, if they chose to do so, could have found him simply by following his lawyers.
Currently, Mysuru citizens are wondering if similar treatment is available in police stations to all accused, or whether such behaviour was limited to a ‘certain section’ of accused.
If this is the situation after a complaint is filed by a deputy commissioner, one wonders what will be the fate of a complaint filed by the average citizen?
The prospects do not seem to be bright.
