V Somanna is humility personified for humble people. He bows before unpretentious people. But when someone is unnecessarily troublesome and misusing their official power, he can be harsh and punitive. Even police officers who tried to exceed their powers could not stand the payback by Somanna.
To hear it in Somanna’s own words:
I first contested for the Corporation from Vijayanagar Ward on a Janata Party ticket in 1983. A heavily mustached police sub-inspector would haughtily ride on his Bullet bike in the area. The people were terrified of him.
I filed my nominations and started canvassing. But, that sub-inspector, in support of the Congress candidate, began to harass my supporters and party workers. He even dragged a few of them to the police station and assaulted them. A few local leaders of our party who questioned this were also assaulted mercilessly.
I was incensed by this incident. I went straight to the police station and barged into his chamber. When I tried to sit down, he ordered to me stand with folded hands and said the chair was not my father’s. I was enraged. I replied in the strongest terms. He did not expect it. I called Deve Gowda from the station’s landline phone and explained the police officer’s highhandedness. Deve Gowda was the PWD minister. He asked me to hand the phone to the sub-inspector and gave him an earful.
Deve Gowda’s reprimand worked. Within a short time, ACP Ashwath Narayanappa and DCP Nagaraj arrived at the station and took the sub-inspector to task. The SI softened after my outburst. He released our party workers. Later, the sub-inspector came to be on good terms with me!
Super cop gets a dressing down!
There is one more incident. A City Police Commissioner was fond of styling himself as a super cop. There was a popular film made on him too. In reality, he was very cowardly, anti-people and a junk. It is a joke that a film was made based on adventures he never had!
This officer went out of his way to trouble people. He would trouble bicycle riders, street hawkers and even prevent people from putting up tents in front of homes when someone died. He made mindless rules to cause unwanted inconvenience to the public. I was waiting for a chance to teach him a lesson.
I got a few of my supporters to arrange a felicitation programme for him. A huge tent was put up on the street. The police did not question this. Just before the arrival of the ‘super cop’, I sent my supporters to the spot and had the tent removed citing violation of rules. The ‘super cop’ Commissioner had to receive the felicitation in the middle of the road in searing heat. When the Commissioner felt the heat of his own rules, people complimented me for bringing the ‘super cop’ down to earth.