Moral policing: 13 taken into custody in Mangaluru

The Mangaluru South police have arrested 13 persons from Hindu organisations in connection with the assault on a 28-year-old youth while he was talking to a girl from another community, at Babugudde in Attavar, said Police Commissioner S Murugan. The accused had assaulted Shakeer after tying him to a pole and stripping him.

The arrested are Santhosh Poojary (23) of Padu Kudeera in Karkala taluk, Abhiram (23) of Babugudde, Kiran (29) of Hunasemakki, Praveen Shetty of Eligoli in Karkala, Bhujanga Shetty (46) of Siddakatte, Chandrakanth Rao (42) of Bejai, Ghanashyam Acharya (24)  of Attavar Jain compound, Dhanush (20), Muthuraj (21), Kishan (20) of Babugudde, Naveen (42) of Melinamogaru, Vivek (38) of Babugudde and Kirankumar (25) of Attavar.

All accused were remanded in judicial custody. After the incident, the girl in question took a U-turn and filed an FIR against Shakeer on Monday n. A case under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) has been filed.
The girl has accused the youth of trying to outrage her modesty. She said she was working in a supermarket. When she was walking to Nandigudde to take a bus to Shakthinagar after work, Shakeer, her colleague, came in a car and tried to forcibly pull her towards the car.

“He had sent a SMS to me that he will drop me to the bus stop. Under pressure, I just replied ‘ok’.

“He misbehaved with me when he offered to drop me home four days ago. Thinking about the incident, I decided to walk to the bus stop. When he pulled me, I cried for help. When the public came, he attempted to assault them but  was thrashed him.”

She has asked for police  protection and to release those who had tried to save her. She said she did not complain, fearing that she would lose her job.

Shakeer, who is admitted in a hospital, said the girl had asked him money. He had gone to meet the girl to give her money, when the activists assaulted him, he said.