E-Paper
2 men assaulted over allegation of molestation in Dakshina Kannada
An FIR was registered against unidentified men after a video of the two bedsheet salesmen being assaulted by a group of men was widely circulated on social media on Friday, said a senior police officer.
A group of men allegedly waylaid and assaulted two salesmen on the suspicion that they molested a woman in Dakshina Kannada district, police said on Friday, adding that separate cases have been registered against the mob and the duo.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against unidentified men after a video of the two bedsheet salesmen being assaulted by a group of men was widely circulated on social media on Friday, said a senior police officer.
The salesmen, identified as Rameezuddin and his relative Mohammed Rafik, are in their late 20s, said police.
“We conducted a probe into the case after the video of the assault surfaced. As per our investigation, the assault was a result of a complaint by a woman alleging these two men tried to molest her,” said Dakshina Kannada superintendent of police Sonawane Rishikesh. “After the woman raised an alarm, some men waylaid the car (in which the duo was travelling) and attacked them.”
The viral video, which police confirmed was that of the incident, purportedly shows two men lying in the mud, stripped to undergarments and assaulted with sticks and iron rods by the mob.
The district police have registered a case under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 144 (unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 341 (wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 323 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown men.
No arrest has been made in the case so far, said the SP, adding that efforts were underway to identify the attackers. The victims have suffered cuts, wounds, blood clots and scratches on their bodies, the SP said. “They are undergoing treatment at a hospital.”
The two salesmen have also alleged that their stock of bedsheets was destroyed by the mob.
Hours after the incident, a complaint was lodged against the two men for molesting a woman, the senior officer said. “In the complaint, it was alleged that two men went a house for selling bedsheets and spoke to a woman in a vulgar manner and tried to molest her,” said the SP. “We have registered a case of outraging the modesty of the woman (under IPC Section 354) with Kadaba police.”
Police said the two men have claimed that there was an argument with the woman over the price of the bedsheet, which led to an alternation. After they returned to Bedraje, Kaniyoor at around 2 pm, a mob blocked the road. “They have claimed that the mob pulled them out of the car, hurled expletives, hit them with wooden sticks and iron rods and dragged them onto the road,” said another police officer.
In another case in the district, a man was tied to an electric pole and thrashed by local residents in a village in Puttur taluk on Friday over allegation that he misbehaved with a girl, said police.
The incident happened at Saaja Panettadka under Balnadu Gram Panchayat limits, on Friday morning, said police. The accused, a resident of Saaja, was later taken into custody by the police.
On Thursday evening, a girl informed her family that the accused allegedly misbehaved with her while she was returning home in Saaja. She claimed that she was walking from the bus stand to her house, when the accused, who was riding on the same route on his scooter, saw her and offered to drop her at her house, said a police officer.
The two-wheeler of the accused reportedly broke down in Panettadka after which he walked to his home. When he returned with a mechanic on Friday morning, local residents were waiting for him near the scooter, said the officer, adding that they tied the accused to an electric pole and thrashed him.
Officers of the Puttur rural police, who arrived at the spot after learning about the incident, took the accused into custody.
