Moral policing: Bengaluru man assaulted for giving lift to Muslim woman

Two persons waylaid and assaulted a Hindu man for giving a lift to his female Muslim colleague on Friday night. The accused abused the woman, forced her off the bike and also abused her husband over the phone.

The incident happened near Dairy Circle on Hosur Road. The Suddaguntepalya police registered a case following a complaint by the woman and arrested the two accused. All names have been withheld.

Police took up the matter after the video clips of the incident went viral on social media. "Two youths from the Muslim community have been arrested and their mobile phones have been seized. Further investigation is ongoing," a police officer said, refusing to divulge more information in view of a high court order.

Police registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including section 34 for the act done with common intention, promoting enmity on grounds of religion (153-A), outraging the modesty of a woman (IPC 354), assault (IPC 323) and criminal intimidation (IPC 596).

Police sources said the woman and the man work in a company near Richmond Circle and he was dropping her home after work. The accused chased them and waylaid their bike before assaulting the man.

One of the video clips shows the accused threatening the man. "If you ever take a woman clad in burqua on your bike again...," the accused is heard saying before assaulting him repeatedly.

The accused force the woman to give the number of her husband and call him. The husband is overheard trying to explain that he knows that she was getting help from a friend to reach home. The accused then forced her to get off the bike and into an autorickshaw.

As the issue took a communal turn on social media, some pointed out that it hits at the heart of the cosmopolitan spirit of the city and a few noted the harassment of the woman. In some of the clips, the woman is seen trying to question the accused over their behaviour but is forced into silence with a warning against travelling with non-Muslim.

DCP for South East Division Joshi Srinath Mahadev, City Police Commissioner Kamal Panth and even Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai tweeted about the incident.

"In connection with the case of assault on a bike rider travelling along with a woman of a 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," Bommai tweeted.

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