MLA accuses cops of 'outraging modesty' of his wife

Vijayanand Kashappanavar, the Karnataka Congress MLA accused of assaulting a police constable at a pub, has turned around to accuse the police of 'outraging the modesty' of his wife.

Vijayanand Kashappanavar, the Karnataka Congress MLA accused of assaulting a police constable at a pub, has turned around to accuse the police of "outraging the modesty" of his wife.

In an anticipatory bail petition filed before a lower court in Bangalore on Friday, the ruling party MLA, who has been missing from public view since the July 1 fracas, has said that the policemen he is accused of assaulting were the ones who started the fight by assaulting his wife.

Speaking to HT, Kashappanavaru's lawyer, S Raikar, said, "The police hit my client's wife and that is what triggered the entire incident." The petition also accuses the police of trying to extort money from the MLA.

"The police caught my client by the collar and threatened him," Raikar said. The advance bail petition is expected to come up before the court during the post-lunch session on Saturday.

The only piece of evidence that can put things in perspective is the CCTV footage of the pub that the police has impounded.

The opposition BJP, which is rejuvenated by this incident, has been demanding that the footage of the incident be made public. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagdish Shettar has also alleged that the ruling party is trying to make the CCTV footage "disappear".