A protest staged over the death of a Congo national resulted in a clash between the Bengaluru Police and foreign nationals on Monday. Many from the African continent were protesting outside the JC Nagar police station where the deceased was brought after his arrested.
Joel Shindani Malu, 27, was arrested late on Sunday by the JC Nagar police station for allegedly possessing drugs. “His visa and passport had expired in 2016. He was arrested at around 2.30am with 5 grams of MDMA. At around 5.30 am he was taken to the hospital after he complained of chest pain where he was declared dead,” said Dharmendar Kumar Meena, DCP North.
The protest turned violent after 4 pm with protestors assaulting the police officials. The protestors were then lathi-charged, detained and taken away. Five Nigerian nationals have been arrested in the case.
“This is being looked at as a custodial death. A case has been registered under CrPC 176. We have shared the necessary information with the human rights commission and CID who will now investigate the case,” said Soumendu Mukherjee, Additional Commissioner of Police.
JC Nagar Incident:The @jcnagarps team arrested a Congo national Joel Shindani Malu last night for possession of drugs. While in custody, he experienced chest pain and later died in a private hospital, while under treatment. (1/3)
— Kamal Pant, IPS (@CPBlr) August 2, 2021
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said police resorted to lathi charge only after the protest turned violent.
“You know we have been cracking down on drug peddlers for the last two years. Many are overstaying in the city. The Africans got violent and police had to resort to lathi charge. There’s a CID investigation into the death of this person who was arrested. Case was registered but they (protestors) unnecessarily began assaulting the police that’s when they responded in the right way,” he said.
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