The Karnataka Police late on Thursday arrested two minor boys in connection with the alleged attack on a Congress corporator in Mangalore.
They were remanded in a juvenile correctional facility.
A mob of around 30 suspected Hindu Jagarana Vedike activists had allegedly assaulted the woman member of Mangalore City Corporation when she was canvassing for the Congress party on Sunday. Confirming the arrests, Mangalore Police commissioner R Hitendra told HT that search was on for the other accused.
The Hindu Jagarana Vedike's office, which is close to the place where the corporator was allegedly molested, is vacant nowadays. There is a heavy presence of policemen in the area.
Police sources said they came under pressure from the state government after the media took up the issue.Headline: Why Congress must do well in Karnataka
Rahul to face black flag protest
Meanwhile, several women's and human rights groups have decided to hold a black flag protest against the Congress-led state government during party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit to Mangalore on Friday.
Vidya Dinker, one of the organisers of the protest, said, "Little has changed in Mangalore since the Congress government came to power. Women are being attacked by self-appointed guardians of the moral code. If the Congress cannot protect one of its own workers, how will it protect ordinary women?"
Muneer Katipalla, another organiser, said, "Some people are telling us that by targeting the Congress, we will split the secular vote. But what has the Congress in the district done to rein in these fanatical groups? We want Rahul Gandhi to know all this when he comes here."
Muneer Katipalla, another organiser, said, "Some people are telling us that by targeting the Congress, we will split the secular vote. But what has the Congress in the district done to rein in these fanatical groups? We want Rahul Gandhi to know all this when he comes here."
Moral policing is nothing new in Mangalore. Controversial chief of right-wing outfit Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik, who had grabbed the headlines recently for being shown the door within hours of joining the BJP, was linked with an attack on women at a pub in Mangalore in 2009.