Man consumes poison near Vidhana Soudha, alleges police harassment

An Ayurvedic doctor on Saturday allegedly consumed poison in front of the Vidhana Soudha in the heart of the city, accusing the police of harassment.

He was immediately shifted to Bowring Hospital and was out of danger, according to the police.

The man has been identified as Nagendra S., aged around 40, a resident of north Bengaluru. The incident occurred around 11.15 a.m., opposite the Vidhana Soudha, amid heavy pedestrian movement.

A police officer said that Nagendra had already consumed poison before arriving at the spot. He then called mediapersons and accused the police of harassing him for identifying and reporting what he claimed were ‘illegal Bangladeshi’ residents in the city and for lodging complaints about them.

“He was making these claims while speaking to the mediapersons. Our officers deployed around the Vidhana Soudha noticed a bottle in his hand and immediately snatched it,” the officer said.

A senior police officer told The Hindu that Nagendra had recorded a video accusing the police and uploaded it on social media before arriving at Vidhana Soudha. 

Nagendra claimed that he was working along the lines of Puneeth Kerehalli, who was recently arrested by the Bannerghatta police on the accusations of trespassing into the homes of migrant workers and threatening them while demanding personal identity and property-related documents.

A case has been registered against Kerehalli at the Soladevanahalli police station, in which Nagendra has also been named as an accused. The police had been searching for Nagendra for the past few days, a senior officer from the Central Division said.

(If you are in distress or having suicidal tendencies, please reach out to these 24/7 helplines: KIRAN at 1800-599-0019 or Arogya Sahayavani at 104 for help.)