On Wednesday (14th August), a 27-year-old man set fire to his Activa scooter in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru at around 3.30 p.m. The man, identified as Prithviraj M, was discontent with the police for allegedly mistreating his mother. Prithviraj’s actions caused panic on the spot. The police took Prithviraj, a Yeshwanthpur resident, into custody after the incident.
He told the police that he wanted justice against police officers who mistreated his mother while she was visiting different police stations to file a missing-person complaint. The accused who worked at a private company in Bengaluru was reportedly arrested later.
According to the police, Prithviraj had on 1st July gone trekking in Sringeri and other areas of Chikkamagaluru. As his mother was unable to contact him over the phone since Prithviraj’s phone was switched off due to technical reasons, she approached the police station in Challakare, Chitradurga to file a missing person complaint. However, the police did not pay heed to her concerns saying that her son would return soon. After returning, Prithviraj learnt about this and the mother-son duo went to the police station. When Prithviraj asked the police why his mother’s complaint was not registered, the police allegedly abused them.
Reports say that Prithviraj had placed a rope in the petrol tank of his scooter and lit it, sparking the fire in the middle of the road. After this, a fire tender was called from Vidhana Soudha and the fire was brought under control.
“The police did not respond to her properly. Growing more anxious, she came to Bengaluru and visited Yeshwanthpur police station the next day, and they accepted her complaint. On 10th July, I called my mother, saying I was fine. On 21st July, I came to Bengaluru and visited Yeshwanthpur police station. They closed the case and sent me back with my mother. On 23rd July I went to Challakere police station and sought an explanation for ill-treating my mother. Instead of replying, they beat me up in front of my mother. I protested there. I have met many officials, including DSPs of Challakere and Chitradurga, explaining the issue. But nothing came out of all this. Since I was not given justice, I decided to burn my scooter outside Vidhana Soudha so that everyone would watch it and hear me,” he told investigating officers, TOI reported.
When the police arrested him on Wednesday, Prithviraj hurled abuses at the police and said that he set the scooter ablaze as he did not get justice. Meanwhile, the police had booked the man under relevant BNS sections.
