In an incident caught on camera, a gang of men waylaid a middle-aged woman on Upper Bendore road in Mangaluru city on Sunday. The woman tried to fight off the gang, but they escaped in a car that didn’t have a number plate.
The video soon went viral on social media, with requests to identify the gang. However, hours after the incident, Mangaluru police commissioner N Shashi Kumar issued a statement claiming that the incident was a mock drill to assess the reaction of the public and police preparedness.
“Under Kadri police station limits, a gang tried to snatch a bag from a lady near St Agnes College where the lady retaliated. This was a mock drill undertaken by the police department to see how the public, police and victim respond to such a situation. The lady was Shobhalatha Kateel, Swaraksha for Women Trust, where she gives training on self-defence,” said Kumar.
The officer said the local police who didn’t know about the drill responded to the incident within four minutes. “The incident took place at 11 am. Within 4 minutes, we received a call on 112 and by 11:10 am, the 112 vehicles reached the spot and took information about the incident,” he said.
Kumar said that seeing the woman retaliating against the attackers, passerby joining in as well, was a good sign. “Some youth also tried chasing the car. They also gave information to the police about the accused’s faces, car and its model. I urge the public to be prepared in such situations. The victim should retaliate without any compromise on safety. Meanwhile, the public should rescue the victim and try to catch the accused,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar said that seeing the woman retaliating against the attackers, passerby joining in as well, was a good sign. “Some youth also tried chasing the car. They also gave information to the police about the accused’s faces, car and its model. I urge the public to be prepared in such situations. The victim should retaliate without any compromise on safety. Meanwhile, the public should rescue the victim and try to catch the accused,” he said.
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