Bengaluru: The Bengaluru police arrested two persons over a case of moral policing Sunday after a video went viral just the night before. The two arrested are accused of assaulting a Hindu man who was dropping his Muslim female colleague on his two-wheeler.
In a statement, the Bengaluru police said that the accused in the case were arrested within 12 hours of the incident — the arrests were made after the video of the incident went viral with communally-charged comments on social media.
“A video of assault on a bike rider travelling with a woman of a different faith was viral on social media. In this case, a complaint was filed with the SG Palya police station. Our personnel acted swiftly and arrested two accused within 12 hours,” said Srinath Mahadev Joshi, DCP, Southeast division, in a video statement to the media.
Speaking to The Print, Joshi said the arrests were made after the complainant came forward. “We won’t be able to reveal more details including names of the accused at this point in time,” he said. The duo has been booked under sections 153A (promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings), 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 354 (Assault of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC.
In a two-part video that has gone viral since Saturday night, the accused are seen stalling the biker and his pillion rider and hurling abuses at them. The victims, however, had not filed a complaint until police took notice of the video and registered a case.
One of the accused is seen assaulting the man, who is seen sporting vermillion on his forehead, multiple times and threatening him against riding pillion with the woman again. The video also shows how the two men abused the woman clad in a burqa, forcing her to phone her husband. They then spoke to him and tried to shame him about why he was allowing his wife to ride pillion with a man belonging to a different faith.
After this, they are seen forcing the woman down from the bike and asking her to go home in an auto. The accused in the video are seen speaking with the woman in Dakhini.
The video of the assault was shared extensively by many pro-right wing handles demanding action against the accused for assaulting a man from the majority community.
Given the communal turn the video was taking, the Bengaluru police commissioner, as well as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, took to social media to announce the arrest of the accused.
Acting swiftly, @BlrCityPolice has identified and secured two accused persons for assault on a bike rider traveling along with a woman of a different faith.
A case is registered and firm legal action is initiated.
— Kamal Pant, IPS (@CPBlr) September 19, 2021
In connection with the case of assault on a bike rider travelling alongwith a woman of different faith,@BlrCityPolice has acted swiftly, identified & secured 2 accused persons. A case is registered & legal action is initiated. My Govt. deals with such incidents with an iron hand.
— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) September 19, 2021
(Edited by Paramita Ghosh)
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