Bengaluru man booked for filming assault on woman instead of reporting it to police: Report

Bengaluru police filed a case against Ankit Jain, who filmed a woman's assault but did not report it.

Bengaluru police have registered a case against a man who recorded a violent assault on a woman but failed to report it, even as the attackers were arrested earlier this month.

The men who assaulted the woman in Bengaluru for stealing sarees were arrested earlier, but Jain's negligence to report the incident led to legal action.

The disturbing incident took place on September 21 on Avenue Road, where a woman was brutally assaulted in public by Umed Ram, owner of Maya Silks, and his employee Mahendra Seervi, The Times of India reported. The duo allegedly kicked the woman in the chest and private parts, attempted to strip her, and hurled abuse, for allegedly stealing a bundle of saris the previous day.

Ankit Jain, another shop owner in the area, captured the entire episode on his phone and later shared the footage with his contacts, which eventually went viral online. However, instead of informing authorities or handing over the video to the police, he remained silent, a decision that has now landed him in legal trouble, said the report.

Police said Jain’s failure to act amounts to intentional negligence. A case has been filed against him under Section 239 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for deliberately withholding information about an offence despite being legally obligated to report it.

The incident also exposed lapses within law enforcement. A Hoysala patrol unit reportedly reached the scene during the incident but failed to investigate the assault. Meanwhile, the special branch remained unaware of the crime until the video began circulating four days later. Shockingly, police detained the woman based solely on a complaint from Umed Ram, without probing her version or reviewing CCTV footage from surrounding shops. She remains in judicial custody, the report noted.

Local traders have criticised the police response, questioning why authorities acted on the shopkeeper’s complaint without verifying the full story.