Air Force officer booked for attempted murder after video shows him attacking biker

An Indian Air Force officer in Bengaluru was on Monday booked for attempt to murder after videos on social media showed him assaulting a biker following an altercation, The Times of India reported.

The biker, a call centre employee named Vikas Kumar, had been arrested on Monday for allegedly assaulting the Air Force officer following a complaint by his wife.

On Monday, Shiladitya Bose, the officer, had uploaded a video on Instagram, in which he had alleged that he was attacked by the biker when he was travelling in a car with his wife. The video showed him bleeding from his forehead and neck.

After the video was widely shared on social media, several people alleged that this was an example of Kannada-speaking citizens in Bengaluru targeting those from other linguistic communities. Soon afterwards, the police took Kumar into custody.

While Bose is a wing commander with the Air Force, his wife Madhumita Dutta is a squadron leader, The Indian Express reported.

Bose alleged that on Monday morning, when his wife was driving him to the Bengaluru airport, the biker “came from behind and stopped in between” and began abusing him and his wife in Kannada. He alleged that the man attacked him with a key, leaving him bleeding.

“This is what Karnataka has become,” Bose said in the video. “I believed in Kannada, but seeing the truth of main heartland Karnataka, I could not believe it.”

He further claimed: “God gave me the power not to retaliate. Tomorrow, if law and order doesn’t help me, I will retaliate, and then, these people will have to pay.”

The police said that Kumar, during his interrogation, alleged that he was the one who had been attacked, The Times of India reported. The police then examined security camera footage from the spot and found visuals of Bose attacking the biker, even as passers-by were urging him to stop.

Kumar’s mother said it was wrong to blame her son and declare the Air Force officer as faultless. She alleged that the wing commander attacked her son, bit his hand and damaged his motorcycle, The Times of India said.

The biker’s mother further said that despite the assault, they did not file a complaint to prevent the situation from escalating.

On the other hand, Madhumita Dutta, the wife of the wing commander, alleged that the biker had been driving rashly and almost hit their car.

“He crossed our car and we moved ahead,” she said in her police complaint, according to The Indian Express. “However, he turned the bike and had come back… He took a stone and hit my husband on his head. He threatened us by saying ‘You are from DRDO, I can see the sticker. This is Kannada land, I will see you. Just watch what I do.’”

Dutta said she asked her husband to remain seated in the car, but some unknown individuals came from the back and dragged him into the street. “The locals were speaking Kannada and thrashed my husband on the road,” she alleged.

The police said that the call centre employee did not file a counter complaint against the Air Force official.

Kannadigas should not fall for provocation, says Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the Air Force officer had made “unwarranted and derogatory” remarks about the state and Kannadigas on social media, “displaying conduct that is deeply disrespectful and inflammatory”.

Kannadigas are not intolerant, the chief minister said in a social media post.

Siddaramaiah said that some “national media outlets, neglecting their responsibility and professional ethics, have amplified a baseless accusation by one individual, thereby casting aspersions on the dignity” of the state.

Kannadigas should not fall for “provocation”, the chief minister said, adding that he had instructed the police chief to take action against the persons involved in the matter irrespective of their position or rank.

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