Karnataka moral policing and gang rape case: Two Hangal police officers suspended

The inquiry revealed that police inspector SR Sridhar and police constable Eliaz Shetasanadi were errant in collecting information about the incident.

ByBellie Thomas

Published Jan 17, 2024 | 4:02 PM ⚊UpdatedJan 17, 2024 | 4:04 PM

Hangal Town Police Station. (Sourced)

The Haveri district police, on Tuesday, 16 January, suspended two police officers, including the police inspector of the Hangal Town Police Station, in connection with the 8 January Hangal moral policing and gang rape case that was registered based on a complaint from a 26-year-old woman.

As there was a delay in registering the FIR by about four days and, consequently, arrests were also delayed, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Haveri, Anshu Kumar Srivastava, has ordered a departmental inquiry into the police officers on duty that day at the Hangal Town Police Station.

There is also the fact that the survivor did not initially disclose details about the gang rape to the police officials while filing a moral policing case, but later opened up before the magistrate who recorded her statement.

Police inquiry

The inquiry revealed that the police inspector, SR Sridhar, and a police constable, Eliaz Shetasanadi, had been errant in collecting information about the incident. The two policemen were also found negligent for not registering the FIR on time.

After the case was registered, there was a further delay in arresting of all the accused involved, the inquiry revealed. “The SP has issued suspension orders to the two policemen, charging them with dereliction of duties,” Additional Superintendent of Police C Gopal told South First.

When asked why the survivor did not disclose the gang-rape incident to the police and instead opened up before the magistrate, police sources told South First that the survivor told the police that she was initially hesitant because of the social stigma.

However, after she learnt that videos of her and her acquaintance being moral-policed at the hotel room were being circulated everywhere — television news channels and social media platforms — she decided to open up about the gang-rape incident before the judge.

Also Read: Investigation underway, says Karnataka HM G Parameshwara

The incident

On 8 January, after a group of miscreants forcibly entered a lodge and assaulted an interfaith couple residing there, a complaint was filed by Vinay Kyasanur, an employee of Idigas Lodge, at the Hangal Police Station, outlining the harrowing details of the assault.

According to the complaint, the miscreants forcefully entered the couple’s room, threatening, assaulting, using offensive language, tearing their clothes, and subsequently expelling them from the lodge.

When Hangal Town Police — which had initially booked three people in the moral policing case — produced the couple before the JMFC Court on 11 January, the survivor alleged that she was raped by seven people on the day of the incident.

Based on her statement, the Hangal Police has registered gang rape cases against all seven named by her.

Aftab Chandanakatti (24), Madarasaba Mandakki (23), and Samivulla Lalanavar (30) are the accused who have been arrested in this case. Another accused, Mohammed Saif Savikeri, met with an accident on 9 January. He sustained serious injuries and is being treated at Haveri District Hospital.

On 13 January, the Haveri Town Police had arrested two people identified as Imran Bashir Jakkinkatti and Rehan Mohammed Hussain Walikar, claiming their involvement in the gang rape case. However, after the survivor stated that these two were not connected to the gang rape case, the police arrested another two accused — Sadiq Agasimani (29) and Shohaib (19) on Sunday.