Published Mar 06, 2023 | 9:08 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 06, 2023 | 9:09 PM
A screengrab from the helmet cam footage showing the man snatching Sharon's bike keys. (Supplied)
Little did a group of women bikers in Bengaluru know that their women-empowerment bike rally, on the occasion of the upcoming International Women’s Day on 8 March, would end on a harrowing note. The irony, right?
Two men — an elderly man and his son — not only abused the bikers with filthy language but also managed to take away one of the bikers’ keys, which he refused to return even after police intervention.
The incident happened around 1 pm on Sunday, 5 March, on NICE Road’s exit stretch towards Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru.
“It was a bike rally organised by Jawa Moto (a motorcycle company based in present-day Czech Republic) on Sunday on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March. Around 12 of us — all women bikers — had gone to Kanakapura and were returning to the city,” Dr Sharon Samuels told South First.
Sharon, a resident of BTM Layout, and her fellow rider Priyanka Prasad stopped their bikes by the side of the road.
“Since all our toll tickets were with one rider, Priyanka and I decided to wait for everyone to come to the exit stretch. The plan was to head back to my place after everyone joined us.”
Out of nowhere, an elderly man who was standing on his property across NICE Road allegedly started abusing the women bikers, asking them not to park or stand there.
The women asked the man why they could not stand there as NICE Road was public property, and said they even paid the toll to travel on it.
Irked by this, the elderly man hurled expletives at the two women bikers — one of whom had a helmet camera that recorded the entire sequence of events.
View this post on Instagram
Hearing the man shouting at the women, his son came from the house, crossed the busy road, walked up to them, and told them that he was an advocate. He asked them not to stand there and demanded that they move away.
He then took his phone and started video-recording their bike’s registration plates, while he told the women riders that they were blocking the entrance to his property.
When the women bikers explained to him that they had parked on the road — which they reminded him was public property — for a few minutes to wait for their friends, the man allegedly became furious.
He walked up to Sharon’s bike, snatched her bike keys, and went straight into his house.
“He came up from behind and snatched my bike keys. When I held on to my keys, the man twisted my right wrist, snatched the keys away, and walked into his house,” Sharon told South First.
The man was then seen with a whistle and a stick in his hand, pacing on his property. As he appeared to be in no mood to return the bike keys, the women felt they had no other option but to call the police.
The elderly man, in the distance, hurling abuses at the women bikers. (Supplied)
After the women waited for 45 minutes, a Hoysala police patrol jeep came by, along with a NICE Road patrol vehicle.
They asked the man to return the bike keys, but he refused outright and left for the jurisdictional Konanakunte police station.
“I had to then tow my bike all the way to the police station under the hot sun,” said Sharon.
As there were no senior police officers at the Konanakunte police station, the women had to wait for around seven hours to file their complaint against the men, who were later identified by the police as Manjunath, a lawyer by profession, and his father Hanumanthappa.
“Before we could file a complaint, the man had already filed a complaint against us with the police, booking us for trespassing and using abusive language,” Sharon said.
The women bike riders then shared their ordeal on social media and tagged all of their friends and other biker communities in the city. A lot of advice, suggestions, and support came pouring in.
Both Sharon and Priyanka drafted a complaint and submitted it to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Konanakunte police station, who has booked Manjunath under IPC Sections 354 (outraging the modesty of women), 323 (assault), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
This happened on NICE road, Bengaluru to me and my friends in broad daylight. We had stopped to sip some water and exchange toll tickets. The bikes were on, we had no intention of staying there when this man who claimed to be an advocate did this! #safetyforwomen@BlrCityPolice pic.twitter.com/48rXOX3Fat
— Sharon Samuel (@SharonsAyurveda) March 6, 2023
When South First asked Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Division) P Krishnakanth about the apparent delay by the cops in attending to the complaint, he said, “Soon after they (women) called the police control room, a Hoysala police patrol team attended to the incident. There was no delay in taking up their complaint as they were consulting their friends and redrafting their complaint, after which our men had registered an FIR.”
He added, “The other party has also given a complaint against the women for trespassing and using abusive language. We have registered a case based on his complaint as well and we are investigating.”
Sharon said: “It was around 9.15 pm when I finally got my bike keys back and started heading back home with my friends.”
