Magistrate, booked for allegedly assaulting cops, found dead

Kasaragod: A magistrate, who was booked for allegedly assaulting an auto-rickshaw driver and police personnel in an inebriated condition in Karnataka, was found dead at his residence here Wednesday morning.

The police suspect that V K Unnikrishnan, First Class Judicial Magistrate working at Vidyanagar in Kasaragod, committed suicide as he was found hanging.

There was no one at the home when the incident took place.

The High Courthad earlier suspended Unnikrishnan from the post following the assault case.

The Karnataka police had registered two cases Unnikrishnan, hailing from Thrissur, in connection with the incident happened at Sullia near Mangalore in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

He was charged with various offences including criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint of the Indian Penal Code. The second case had been registered against him for allegedly assaulting and causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty of IPC.

Unnikrishnan, who was allegedly drunk, had engaged an auto-rickshaw at Sullia bus stand and told the driver in unclear language where he wanted to go. As the driver repeatedly asked him for the destination, the Magistrate got angry and allegedly assaulted him, reports said.

The driver then drove the vehicle straight to the police station where also the magistrate tried to allegedly manhandle him.

When two police constables intervened, they were also allegedly assaulted.

The magistrate also allegedly manhandled and misbehaved with the Circle Inspector Krishnaiah at the police station during interrogation.

Besides, he damaged the furniture at the station, after which he was taken to a hospital for medical test.

On confirming the identity of the judicial officer after contacting their counterparts in Kasaragod, the police officials took him to the district circuit house under protection.

The Magistrate was later allowed to go home after he gave an undertaking to the police.