Two held for publicly assaulting woman over stealing sarees in Bengaluru

The woman was assaulted by the shopkeeper and his employee after she stole a bundle of sarees from outside the shop.

Police in Karnataka's Bengaluru arrested two people for publicly assaulting a woman last week over allegations of stealing sarees kept in front of a shop, police said on Friday.

The shopkeeper and his employee reportedly assaulted the woman after identifying her from the CCTV footage. (screengrab of the video).

The accused have been identified as Umedram, 44, and Mahendra Seervi, 25. They have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody for allegedly assaulting the woman, PTI news agency reported, citing police.

The incident was reported from Avenue road in Chickpet and was recorded by one of the shopkeepers on his mobile phone and uploaded on social media.

Probe revealed that the woman, originally from Andhra Pradesh, is a habitual offender and allegedly stole a bundle of sarees left outside the shop and escaped on September 20. The shopkeeper was busy attending to other customers when the theft took place.

He later noticed the missing sarees and learnt about the theft from nearby shopkeepers. He reportedly identified the woman from the CCTV footage and caught her the next day. The accused allegedly thrashed the woman, kicked, punched, and dragged her around and humiliated her before handing over to the police.

The patrolling police reached the spot where Umedram had detained the woman, based on the complaint of the shop owner alleging she stole a bundle of sarees kept in front of his shop.

She was taken into custody, and the alleged stolen articles were seized and kept in safe custody, police said, adding that she was remanded to judicial custody in connection with the theft case.

Based on information received about the assault, a case was registered against the shop owner and his employee on charges of assault and outraging the modesty of a woman, the officer said. The accused were apprehended and remanded to judicial custody.