Another case of moral policing

22 September 2009

Two women employees of a Bangalore-based event management company were allegedly molested and assaulted by four men, when they visited a bar and restaurant, off the National Highway-17, near Thokkotu Junction, on the outskirts of the city, late on Thursday night. The police sources told The Hindu about the incident on Sunday.

The accused have been identified as Kishore, Kiran, Rakesh, and Rajesh. Of them, Rakesh and Rajesh are sons of an assistant sub-inspector of police, according to sources. According to the jurisdictional Ullal police, the women were on a business trip to Mangalore and wanted to have the fish-curry-rice here before returning to Bangalore.The victims told the police that it was about 11 p.m. when they were able to complete their work on Thursday. They asked a colleague to join them and started looking for a place to dine.

However, the only place they could find at that time was the bar and restaurant. Based on the account given to them by the victims, the Ullal police told The Hindu that the accused were watching the women right from the moment they entered the bar. The trouble started when the women lit up cigarettes, the sources said.

“The accused, initially, began abusing the victims. They said that women were not supposed to smoke,” said a police officer.

When the man accompanying the women protested, the four accused assaulted him and went on to molest and assault the two women, the police said.

Police arrive

The staff at the bar, who spoke to The Hindu on Sunday, said that the four attackers were well built. “There was no way we could have taken them on. So, we called the police,” said a waiter, who did not want to be identified. When the police tried to bring the situation under control, two of the assailants threatened them by telling that they were sons of a police officer.

The management of the bar and restaurant did not want the name of the place to be disclosed. “This is a family joint and women visit the place quite frequently, without any problems. This is the first time something like this has happened,” said a hotel employee.

The four accused were arrested the same night, and presented in court the next day, where the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) remanded them to judicial custody. They were released on bail on Saturday.

source the hindu