Journalism of Courage
The Pune rural police,which is facing the heat for firing at the protesters,are probing whether someone other than the police had also fired on the mob during the agitation.
The rural police have recorded the statements of one Navnath Vitthal Pangare (29),who suffered a bullet injury when he was standing about a kilometre away from the agitation spot. Pangare of Vele in Bhor taluka of Pune district was operated at Hardikar Hospital in Shivajinagar. He regularly goes to Mumbai in his tempo to deliver vegetables.
While returning from Mumbai on Wednesday,I was stuck in the traffic jam ahead of Kamshet tunnel due to the agitation on the Expressway. I came out of the tempo and was standing at a spot which was nearly a kilometre away from the agitation, he said.
Suddenly,a bullet hit me. It passed through my left finger,then through my left thigh and got lodged in the right thigh. Policemen rushed me to a Lonavala hospital after I collapsed on the spot. I was later brought to Hardikar Hospital where the bullet was removed, he said.
Pangare said he does not know who fired at him. I dont know whether the bullet was fired by a policeman or someone else. I have not lodged any complaint, he said. He said none of the other people standing near him was hit by bullets.
