An accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case and a man facing a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) were photographed felicitating newly-appointed Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner Bhushan Borase at his office, even as the officer clarified that he did not personally know everyone who greeted him.
The photographs circulated online purportedly show the Lankesh murder case accused Amit Baddi, and Khet Singh Rajpurohit, who has an NDPS case against him, presenting bouquets to Borase after he assumed charge.
Borase told HT that more than 200 people from different sections of society had met him during the three days since he assumed charge. “I do not personally know everyone who came to greet me. My intention is to make the police people-friendly, and therefore I did not refuse anyone who came to greet me. People came in groups, and I could not notice everyone individually. However, my stand against criminals remains as tough as before,” he said.
Borase had spoken about curbing the illegal drug trade in Hubballi-Dharwad after taking charge.
Baddi is out on bail over the murder of activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017. 17 of 18 accused are out on bail, while one accused remains absconding.
