MANGALORE JUL 30: Gangadhar Shetty, who recently complained that his friend Justin Vas (56) and the latter's son had been tortured by the police, has withdrawn his statement.

Mr. Shetty, a resident of Neermarga, had complained that Mangalore Rural Sub-Inspector Prakash had tortured and harassed Mr. Justin Vas and his son Joel Vas. Mr. Justin Vas was admitted to a private hospital last Friday after he was allegedly beaten up by three persons. It was also stated in the complaint that the attackers were from Sri Rama Sene.

In a letter handed over to Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, Mr. Shetty stated that he was offered Rs. 5 lakh to file a “false complaint” against Mr. Prakash on July 8. In another letter, residents of the area who had accompanied Mr. Shetty described the father and the son as “trouble-makers”.

Santhosh D'Costa, a resident of the area, said that the injury to Mr. Justin Vas was due to an accident, which one Ismail from the same area had witnessed. Mr. Joel Vas told The Hindu that the charges made against him by his neighbours on Monday were false. Mr. Shetty had told him over phone the previous night that he was being forced to claim that he had been bribed to file the complaint. “I have recorded our conversation,” he said.

Hindu