Man arrested for making obscene gestures at woman driver in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Chamarajpet police have arrested a man for allegedly making obscene gestures at a woman near Gopalan Mall, officials said on Thursday.

The accused, Harsha HB, 43, from Vijayanagar, was taken into custody following a complaint by Akshatha Ravikumar, a national media panellist for the Indian Youth Congress.

The incident occurred around 4 pm on Wednesday.

Akshatha posted a video of the encounter on X, showing Harsha flipping her off before driving past her car.

“Women drivers in Bangalore face a lot of issues... After abusing, he breaks traffic rules and takes a U-turn where there is none. And it was still a red signal… So, we got to listen to these & neglect?? (sic),” she posted.

Police sources cited the investigation, which revealed that Akshatha was on her phone while driving and had overtaken Harsha’s car. She also recorded the video while driving, as seen in the footage shared on social media.

“This led to a brief exchange of words before the suspect made the hand gesture and drove away,” a police officer told DH.

Harsha was with his family at the time of the incident.

The Chamarajpet police took suo motu cognizance and registered an FIR under Section 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

"The suspect was released on station bail. It appeared to be a minor incident stemming from a misunderstanding, but legal action was taken following the FIR,” the officer added.