In the complaint, 21-year-old Soundarya said she had gone to watch a film with her two Muslim classmates on Thursday. However, the accused waylaid them, abused her in the name of caste, and thrashed her.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Davanagere Police in Karnataka have arrested two persons for allegedly assaulting two Muslim youths in a case of moral policing.
Officials familiar with the developments said the accused have been identified as Doddesh (28) and Lingaraju (25). Both are natives of Davanagere.
Doddesh is a former president of an association of fans of a Kannada actor, and Lingaraju is a pro-Kannada worker, officials were quoted by The Hindustan Times as saying on Sunday.
“They assaulted Mohammed Subani (22) and Ibrahim (21) for accompanying a Hindu girl in a cinema theatre in Davanagere on Thursday. The accused also made a video of the assault and shared it on social media. After the video clip went viral, the girl filed a police complaint on Friday,” a police officer said.
In the complaint, 21-year-old Soundarya said she had gone to watch a film with her two Muslim classmates on Thursday. However, the accused waylaid them, abused her in the name of caste, and thrashed her.
Soundarya is studying in the final year of her degree education in Davanagere, the newspaper said.
Based on the complaint, the KTJ Nagara police have registered a case under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 505(2) (publishing news and stories concerning a conflict between police personnel from various departments), and 354 (criminal force on a woman to outrage modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the SC/ST Atrocity Prevention Act 1989 and are further investigating the case.
Davanagere Superintendent of Police Dr Arun said the two accused were arrested soon after a complaint was received against them.
“In the circulated video, which is proof of the crime, the accused thrashed the men and indulged in moral policing,” he said.
The incident occurred at Geethanjali Theatre in Davanagere City, and police are verifying whether the accused were involved in any other moral policing incidents earlier.
The police are also verifying the involvement of any other organisations or individuals in the incident.
Dr Arun said the department is committed to preventing moral policing incidents by taking stringent legal action against the accused.
State Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already directed police officials to act tough against those involved in moral policing and take the law into their hands. In this connection, he also chaired a meeting with police officers in Davanagere last month.
Karnataka has also formed an anti-communal wing, and the unit is operational in Dakshina Kannada district, where moral policing incidents are high.
