Mangaluru, Apr 17: Addressing a press conference on Monday, former chief minster of Karnataka and JD(S) state president, H D Kumaraswamy said, "Protest was carried out claiming that Ahmed Qureshi was innocent and that he was illegally detained by the police. There would not have been any confusion if the issue had been clearly discussed with the police. He was arrested from the court premises on March 21, but till 27 he was illegally detained without being produced in the court, which created suspicions. Police could have taken him to court during March 21 and 27, taken court order, and then into custody for further interrogation.

"Qureshi's family has claimed he was beaten in an inhuman way which led to his kidney faliure, and through an anonymous police officer, I have came to know that when Qureshi was arrested, he mentioned about his kidney problem, but instead of taking him to the hospital, the police illegally detained till March 27. We can notice that in the name of law and order there are lots of instances of assault taking place," Kumaraswamy said.

" I will collect more information regarding the issue and raise this during the next assembly session. Even during Kallapa Handibag issue, the truth was revealed after I raised my voice in the Assembly. I do not want to defend anyone, the government should take stringent action against those involved in wrongdoings, and should not allow them to grow. This issue needs to be investigated, be it COD, CID or judicial inquiry, so that truth is revealed," he opined.