Father of woman who 'slapped' cop disputes police story

The father of a 22-year-old wo­m­an, whom the police accuse of slapping a traffic constable when he tried to stop her from disturbing Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s convoy in central Bengaluru on June 12, claims that she is innocent.

Krishna, the father of Sarika who was booked under IPC Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter any public servant from discharging his duties), has accused the police of manhandling his daughter.

“After her classes, Sarika took her two-wheeler and was coming out of a building abutting Queen’s Road and Cunningham Road when police cleared the road for Rahul’s convoy,” Krishna said at a press conference on Thursday.

Speaking to DH, he further said: “When Sarika realised that the road was empty and there was no activity, she immediately took a turn at the nearby junction. That’s when a policeman jumped before her two-wheeler and pushed it, assuming she was trying to escape. She fell off the two-wheeler, injured her knee and was dazed. All that she remembered after that was a crowd gathering around her, including policemen who were abusing her.”

She was later taken to the High Grounds police station and her father was summoned. Both of them were detained till 9.30 pm. “The police inspector told me that my daughter has to apologise, which we did and we were allowed to go home. But 48 hours later, police called me to inform that an FIR has been registered against Sarika and that she was shown absconding in the document,” Krishna said. “We were numb with disbelief.”

He continued: “If a VVIP convoy had to pass through and my innocent daughter had no idea which way to go, the police have no business treating her like a criminal.”

An officer from the High Grounds police station, however, claimed that Sarika had been warned from a distance against coming out of the building as it was zero traffic. Despite the warning, she rode up the footpath, her vehicle brushed against a barricade and she fell down. She became angry, went to the constable in uniform and slapped him.

A senior police officer said: “We have sent a notice to her father and he is yet to present himself.”