Acquittal of Pub attack accused a mockery of justice system: Citizens Forum

Mangaluru, Mar 12: Expressing severe disappointment over the “wholesale acquittal” of all the accused in the Amnesia Pub Attack of 2009,the Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development said that the court verdict was entirely unexpected when the citizens had been hoping for the strictest punishment for the guilty as per law. 

In a release issued here, Forum Coordinator Vidya Dinker and Core Group Members Dilip Vas Naik and Mahesh Nayak demanded that the state government take measures to immediately appeal the present judgment and make every effort possible to prove the guilt of the accused and ensure legitimate punishment for them.

“Amnesia Pub Attack had made international headlines due to the graphic violence and the world had seen live TV footage of the brutal attack on young girls. Newspapers had carried photographs of the goons beating up the victims. It is distressing to note than despite such strong video and photographic evidence and a trial lasting nearly 10 years the prosecution has failed to bring the guilty parties to justice,” the release said. 

The Amnesia Pub Attack marked the onset of immoral policing in Mangaluru which has destroyed the foundations of civic freedoms in this region and allowed criminal culture to flourish and terrorise the young and citizens in general, with political backing, it added.  

The Forum also warned that the present judicial outcome of acquittal of all the accused would certainly send a wrong message to society that criminals can get away scot free. It will undermine public confidence in the law of the land and its ability to protect our civic rights. Young citizens who are picking up the courage to speak out and complain against immoral goons will be pushed into silence again.

“It has often been reported that in many media interactions, Sri Rama Sene’s Pramod Mutalik had himself made statements accepting the guilt of the accused. Today, after being acquitted, he has been brazen enough to celebrate his ‘victory’ by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. Media reports indicate that here again he has made statements tantamount to accepting guilt for the pub attack. All this only makes a mockery of the criminal justice system,” the Forum said while urging the state government to pursue the matter seriously and immediately take steps to strive and reverse the judgment by addressing all the loopholes and shortcomings of the case.