Mangaluru: An altercation at a digital service centre in Darbe, Puttur, over a document damaged due to a technical error during lamination, led to the registration of three cases by Puttur Town police on Friday.According to police, Fatimath Miswana,32, a resident of Jalsoor in Sullia, had come to Puttur along with her brother and sister and submitted some documents for printing and lamination at a Janaseva Kendra in Darbe. When she returned to collect the documents, she found that one of them had been damaged during the lamination process.Fatimath reportedly objected to the damage and asked the centre either to rectify the document or pay Rs 300 so that she could obtain a fresh copy. An argument subsequently broke out between her and the centre’s operators, Anjana S Pai, 50, and her son Sudarshan Pai, 29.In her complaint, Fatimath alleged that Anjana and Sudarshan abused her, and that Sudarshan assaulted her, her sister and brother and threatened them with dire consequences. People who had gathered at the spot intervened and separated those involved. Fatimath and her siblings were later taken to Puttur Government Hospital for treatment.Based on her complaint, police registered a case under Sections 115(2) and 109, read with Section 3(5), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Sudarshan was arrested and produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody till Sept 2. Police said Sudarshan had earlier been booked in a case under Section 8(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Kankanady police station. He was also named in a case registered at Kudoor police station in Ramanagara district.Counter-complaintMeanwhile, Anjana, who runs the Janaseva Kendra, filed a counter-complaint. She told police that centre staff informed her that a woman was creating a disturbance over a document damaged during lamination. When she reached the centre, she allegedly found two women and a man demanding either the documents or Rs 10,000. Anjana alleged that she tried to pacify them, but they abused and assaulted her and attempted to record a video. She further alleged that another person threatened her with dire consequences. Based on her complaint, police registered a case against Fatimath Miswan, Mubashira, Mubaris and Naushad under Sections 115(2), 352, 351(2) and 79, read with Section 3(5), of the BNS.A third case was registered after police personnel reached the spot following information about a large gathering and a disturbance outside the centre. Police said that while they were dispersing the crowd and taking some persons to the station for questioning, Niyaz, Naushad and others allegedly obstructed them from performing their duty. The case was registered under Sections 132 and 121(1), read with Section 3(5), of the BNS.Dakshina Kannada district police said CCTV footage from the centre will be examined before further legal action is taken. Police also warned that strict action will be initiated against those spreading false rumours about the incident.
