A day after the Bangalore Mirror reported mass molestation of women in the city’s busy MG Road and Brigade Road during New Year celebrations, Bengaluru Police commissioner Praveen Sood said late on Tuesday that a first information report was filed in the case.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Sood, who took charge as the commissioner on January 1, said: “We have registered an FIR thanks to a citizen who came forward with some evidence. Now, we will begin the actual investigation.”
Earlier, he tweeted:
Enquiry conducted by a DCP rank officer has gone through feed from 45 cameras at MG road. Unedited video available with police.
— Praveen Sood IPS (@CPBlr)January 3, 2017
Enquiry is already underway by an officer of DCP rank.
— Praveen Sood IPS (@CPBlr)January 3, 2017
As promised we have found credible evidence repeat credible evidence in a case of wrongful confinement, molestation and attempt to rob.
— Praveen Sood IPS (@CPBlr)January 3, 2017
We have taken action by registering a FIR. Investigation is in progress. Police is working…. though silently.
— Praveen Sood IPS (@CPBlr)January 3, 2017
Around 1,000 personnel were deployed on the stretch between MG Road and Brigade Road, police said. An official who did not wish to be named said around 50,000 people had assembled in the area to celebrate.
The police action came almost three days after the incident since there was no complaint despite reports the several women were molested and lewd remarks were passed by unidentified men in the posh area of Bengaluru.
An eyewitness told a news channel that inebriated men went berserk on that day. “There were police personnel but the mob was unrelenting. Many women were groped and attempts were made to strip women,” the eyewitness said.
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The National Commission for Women (NCW), meanwhile, summoned Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi for their “disgusting statements” blaming women for the alleged sexual assaults.
Congress MP BK Hariprasad too kicked up a storm after alleging that infiltration by the “Hindutva brigade” was the reason behind the incident.
Social media was flooded with outrage over the incident, with the #Bengalurumolestation hashtag trending on Twitter. Even celebrities weighed in, with actor Aamir Khan saying he was hurt and saddened by the incident and called for swifter justice in such cases.
Read | Bengaluru molestation: Politicians add hype, but where is the evidence?
Source: HindustanTimes