CCB to probe 'mass molestation'

The CCB will investigate whether a large number of women were molested during New Year’s Eve revelry on MG and Brigade Roads, though police are yet to register an FIR. The probe was entrusted to the CCB on Wednesday.

Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said a special team headed by the DCP (central) was checking the unedited CCTV footage of revellers to identify specific instances of groping/molestation and the perpetrators thereby.

Officers in the CCB’s special enquiry squad are verifying the footage of 45 CCTV cameras to identify the crime and establish the culpability to register an FIR, a senior police officer said. “Though we have done extensive analysis and review of the CCTV footage, we are yet to get concrete evidence of any groping or molestation,” the senior officer maintained.

There is a video of a woman running towards a female police officer when she was caught between a crowd that ran helter-skelter to escape police caning. Though she was rescued, there is no evidence to suggest that she was groped or molested, the officer said. “We will register an FIR only if we find concrete evidence,” he added.