In another incident of moral policing, Bajrang Dal activists reportedly thrashed two Muslim men for roaming with Hindu girls at midnight in Kottara in the Mangaluru city of Karnataka on Saturday, 10 December.
The two girls are Class 12 students at one of the evening colleges in Mangaluru City. The two men are fishers by profession.
They were allegedly quizzed and then attacked by members of a Hindu outfit.
The incident is said to have occurred when the quartet was looking for an eatery in Kottara.
The victims’ identities have not been disclosed by the cops as one of the two girls is a minor and they are siblings.
The night patrolling police were quick to intervene and defuse the situation. The police then took the two men and girls to the police station and also alerted their parents. The police ensured all the victims reached home safely.
The incident was reported under the Urva Police Station jurisdictions. However, no arrest was made in the case as the victims did not register any complaint on the incident, said police sources.
“It was true that the moral policing incident was reported at midnight in the Urva Police Station limits. The night patrolling police intervened and resolved the matter. The victims are friends. The girls are students at one of the evening colleges in the city,” a police inspector attached to Urva Police Station confirmed to South First.
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On not initiating action against the right-wing activists, the police inspector pointed out: “We will initiate action if and only if a complaint is registered and relevant evidence is produced. The activists have been cautioned for assaulting two men and girls, who belonged to different religions, at midnight in the city.”
Though a complaint has not been registered, netizens condemning the incident demanded action against the activists for reportedly harassing interfaith friends.
It may be noted that a couple of days ago, a group of Muslim men reportedly assaulted interfaith friends while watching the blockbuster Kannada movie Kantara in the Dakshina Kannada district, of which Mangaluru city is the headquarters.
The incident occurred on 5 December and the complaint was filed on 7 December. The five accused, as per the complaint given to Sullia police, are Abdul Hameed, Ashraf, Sadique, Jabeer Jattipalla, and Siddique Borugudde.
Moral policing is on the rise in Karnataka in general, and Mangaluru in particular, with three incidents of assault reported during the last week alone.
