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Mangaluru pub attack: Sri Ram Sene chief among all 30 accused acquitted by court
Pramod Muthalik did not deny that there had been violence, but said it was the intention behind the incident that had to be taken into consideration
Citing lack of evidence, a Mangaluru court on Monday acquitted all 30 accused, including the then chief of the Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik, in the 2009 pub attack case in the coastal city.
The activists were accused of assaulting women and men at the Amnesia pub in Mangaluru on January 24, 2009, for what they termed as “tarnishing Hindu culture”. The incident had earned the group notoriety, with many condemning the Sene for its involvement in the case.
Delivering the verdict, the third judicial magistrate of the first class court said there was scant evidence in the case and as a result the accused were acquitted.
Speaking to HT, Muthalik said after nine long years justice had been served. “I wish to thank our legal team for helping us get justice,” he said. “Our intention was not to assault anybody, we only wanted to highlight the degradation of the pub, bar and club culture that was taking shape in the city,” he said.
Muthalik did not deny that there had been violence, but said it was the intention behind the incident that had to be taken into consideration. “It was very unfortunate that some women were assaulted, and I have previously apologised for this even in court,” he said.
The assault had been caught on camera and showed women being assaulted by a bunch of activists, who slapped the women and dragged them by the hair.
A complaint was lodged by the owner of the pub, said Umesh G Shet, the first investigating officer in the case. “We did our duty, and investigated the case to the best of our ability till I was in charge,” he said. Shet was transferred later in 2009 and two other officers followed in his place.
The public prosecutor Chetan Nayak did not respond to repeated calls and messages, but Vinod Pal, counsel for the accused, said many witnesses listed by the state had failed to give evidence in the case.
Reacting to the development, Suresh Bhat Bakrabail, a member of the Komu Sauharda Vedike (Communal Harmony Forum), said there were great expectations from the case considering that it had hit national headlines.
“It is very disappointing to see this verdict and it highlights the sorry state of the judiciary and the police, which must share the blame, for not being able to do justice in a case that was caught on camera. Besides, many of the accused, including Muthalik, had issued public statements acknowledging their role in the incident,” he said.
