The police inspector of Hubballi Rural Police Station Jackson D’souza has been suspended for dereliction of duty pending inquiry. This comes on the heels of three Kashmiri students from Hubballi, booked for sedition for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans, being granted conditional bail on technical grounds.
Various organisations had accused the inspector for the delay in filing the chargesheet in the case.
The students — Basit Ashiq Sofi, Talib Majeed and Aamir Mohiuddin Wani — of an engineering college in Hubballi were detained on February 15 after a video in which they allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans became viral. They were booked for sedition and subsequently remanded in judicial custody. They were then shifted to Hingalga Jail in Belagavi. Later, the case was shifted to Hubballi Rural Police Station as the video clip was reportedly shot in the students’ hostel located on the outskirts of the city. Their bail petition was rejected and they were lodged in the Belagavi prison for over three months.
However, after Second JMFC court, Hubballi, granted them conditional bail citing the delay in filing of the chargesheet within the stipulated period, they were released from the jail on Wednesday.
IGP Northern Range Raghavendra Suhas said the Hubballi Rural circle inspector of police had been suspended, pending inquiry, on the charge of dereliction of duty. The officer has been found to have delayed filing of the chargesheet beyond the legally stipulated time of 90 days, he said.
