Bengaluru cops caught napping during clash near Vidhana Soudha

Police have opened an investigation into a clash that broke out between a group of youths outside a pub at Balekundri Circle in central Bengaluru on Monday. Although the incident happened at a busy place near the Vidhana Soudha, police got to know about it only after a video was widely shared on social media.

Vidhana Soudha police on Tuesday registered a case under IPC Section 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) based on a complaint filed by the woman seen in the video. "We received the complaint from her in the evening and have arrested three people," said R Srinivas Gowda, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central).

According to the DCP, the man seen with the woman and one of the suspects had gotten into an argument on social media over an Instagram post. The woman knew one of the suspects.

A senior officer said the arrested suspects were Pavan, Sharath and Karthik. The youth seen with the woman has been identified as Anthony but police are yet to trace him.

Pavan and Anthony knew each other. They had caught up on Instagram and agreed to meet at the busy traffic intersection. Police believe there was a dispute over the woman seen in the video.

When Anthony and the woman went to the specified place on a scooter, Pavan and his friends attacked them and snatched their mobile phones. "The arrested persons carried a stick-like object. It was not a lethal weapon. It was not an act of rowdyism, none of them is a rowdy," Gowda said.