Two women bikers were harassed by a man and his father on NICE Road in southern Bengaluru on Sunday. The duo claimed that the land the bikers had stopped on was owned by them.
The incident occurred in Gottigere around 1.15 pm.
Dr Sharon Samuel and Priyanka Prasad, two bikers, had stopped on the roadside to drink water around 2 pm on Sunday when the father-son duo started yelling profanities from across the road, asking them to leave.
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A video recorded by Priyanka shows Manjunath, the son, crossing the road to tell them that they weren’t supposed to stand there.
“That is my property, you’re not supposed to stand here. What are you doing here? I am an advocate,” he told them. His father has been identified as Hanumanthappa.
When the women pointed out that they had stopped on the road, he said: “You are standing at my gate. This is my passage to the gate, understood? I cross from here and go. You are not supposed to stop here,” all the while continuously yelling at them to move immediately.
Twisted her hand
He then proceeded to snatch the keys from Sharon, twisting her hand in the process, causing it to swell.
The women called the police helpline 112 but Manjunath reportedly refused to hand over the keys to the policemen. He gave them only to the inspector at the Konanakunte police station later.
About 100 bikers gathered outside the police station to support the women. Veena Shetty, one of the riders, shared the story on her Instagram page and noted that the complaint hadn’t been filed by the police for over six hours.
Story on Insta
“They have been here since 2 o’clock and it is 8 o’clock now. Six hours and they have not taken the complaint. They are just modifying the complaint, asking us to compromise,” she said, asking people to come and support the women.
She noted that people who had gathered nearby said that Manjunath, who claims to be an advocate, is infamous for causing such a ruckus and has treated other bikers in a similar manner in the past.
Manjunath claimed that the women filed a false complaint against him, and filed a counter-complaint of illegal trespass and assault against them.
P Krishnakant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), said an FIR had been filed based on the women’s complaint and further investigations were underway.
Police invoked IPC sections dealing with criminal intimidation (506), voluntarily causing hurt (323), and 354 (assault or force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty).
It is not clear if the police filed an FIR on the basis of Manjunath’s complaint.
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