Moral Policing: Muslim Woman Harassed For Talking To Youth In B’luru; 4 Held

BENGALURU:
The Karnataka Police arrested four individuals, including a minor, on Friday in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru.

The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a youth from another community. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohammad Mohsin, Mohammad Mansoor, Mohammad Afridi Pasha, and Waseem Khan.

According to the police, Mohsin works as a scrap dealer, Mansoor is a tailor, while Afridi Pasha and Waseem Khan work as welders.

DCP (West) S. Girish stated on Friday, “Within the limits of Chandra Layout police station, a boy and a girl were sitting on a bike in front of a park. Upon seeing them, a group of four to five men approached and began questioning them. The woman was wearing a burqa.”

“The accused questioned her about why she was at the location and whether she had informed her family. Based on the young woman’s complaint, we registered a case and arrested the four accused. We have also taken the minor involved into custody,” the DCP said.

When asked if the act was premeditated or if the accused had any particular intention, DCP Girish responded, “They saw the girl in a burqa sitting with a boy and questioned her. There does not appear to be any specific intention behind it. The investigation will reveal further details. No violence occurred during the incident, and additional information will emerge as the probe continues.”

According to police sources, the woman, who was wearing a burqa, was chatting with a youth from another community seated on his bike in the Chandra Layout area.

The group of accused individuals approached them and questioned the woman, asking why she was affectionately speaking to a Hindu boy while wearing a burqa.

The gang reportedly insulted her and demanded that she provide the phone numbers of her family members so they could speak to them directly.

However, the woman stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family’s contact information.

Enraged by her response, the group allegedly attempted to assault both the woman and the youth. The accused later circulated a video of the two chatting on social media, which went viral.

Following the circulation of the video, some Hindu organisations and activists raised objections and questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asking whether this incident did not amount to moral policing.

They further criticised the state government, rhetorically asking whether Sharia law had been implemented in Karnataka.

The Chandra Layout police registered a case and took swift action by arresting the accused.

In a horrific incident reported from Hangal town on January 8, 2024, a woman was allegedly dragged out of a hotel after being seen with a person from another community and was beaten up.

The victim, who belonged to the minority community, said that when she was at the hotel, a group of five to six men barged inside, questioned her and took her on their motorcycles forcibly.

She claimed that they took her to an isolated place and assaulted her brutally and all of them raped her.

Later, they asked her to sit in a car and the driver also raped her. Her ordeal did not end there. She was also taken to other places and gang-raped.

The police arrested the accused persons after the victim released a video and appealed for action.