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Bengaluru: Sisters stripped, battered in public for not repaying loan

When the Reddys demanded the money, local villagers intervened and got the sisters to agree to sell their land and pay them back
Last Updated 01 July 2022, 13:27 IST

Two sisters were stripped and brutally beaten up by a couple and their son for failing to repay a hand loan, according to a police complaint.

The incident occurred near Sarjapur in southeastern Bengaluru on Sunday morning but the police registered an FIR only on Tuesday after a video of the women’s wounds went viral, it is alleged.

Bhanu Priya, 33, Shanthi Priya, 30, and their family members had borrowed about Rs 12 lakh at exorbitant interest rates for children’s education from moneylenders Ramakrishna Reddy, his wife Indramma and their son Sunil Kumar.

While the interest piled up, the borrowers were too broke to pay and hadn’t made any payment in the last five years.

When the Reddys demanded the money, local villagers intervened and got the sisters to agree to sell their land and pay them back.

Around 10 am on June 26, Reddy, his wife and son barged into the sisters’ home at Narige village and started abusing them. Kumar tore Shanthi’s blouse, stripped her and dragged her by the hair. Reddy and Indramma then struck her with a club on her chest and private parts in full public view. Bhanu was also assaulted in a similar fashion. The Reddys threatened to kill the sisters if they went to the police, the complaint stated.

The victims alleged that the police did not take their complaint and registered an FIR only after videos of the women’s wounds went viral. In one video, one of the sisters shows the injuries on her thighs.

While Shanthi’s complaint alleged that it was a murderous assault, police did not invoke the attempted murder charge under IPC section 307.

Instead, they opened the case under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons or means), 354B (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 504 (breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) read with section 34 (acts done by several people in furtherance of common interest).

Sarjapur police inspector Raghavendra Imbrapur denied that the women were stripped and insisted that they had taken prompt action by arresting Reddy and Kumar.

Lakshmi Ganesh K, additional superintendent of police, Bengaluru district, cited the inspector’s station house diary to deny that the FIR was delayed. According to him, the inspector had asked the sisters to file a complaint but they were unwilling and said they would settle the matter with the moneylenders. But two days later, they came back and filed the complaint. Accordingly, an FIR was registered immediately, he told DH. Asked about the allegation of stripping, he said the preliminary investigation didn’t prove it but they were still verifying. Ganesh further said that Indramma would also be arrested. An investigation is also on into how much interest the moneylenders charged.

Police sources said the sisters and their parents had taken lakhs of rupees from as many as 12 people in the last few years but had not repaid.

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(Published 29 June 2022, 10:17 IST)

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