On 31st December, as the city of Bengaluru in Karnataka celebrated the New Year with laughter, lights, and music, the Kannada news media channel chose to follow and film women outside the pub without their permission. Moreover, the Kannada media channels also posted chastising videos on social media with inappropriate captions with the alleged intention to defame the women.
News media channels like News First Kannada, Public TV, and Zee Kannada posted videos in which the cameraman zoomed in on women‘s outfits, faces, and bodies outside pubs. The women tried to cover their faces with their palms and requested the media persons to not shoot them but the latter didn’t stop. They captured the inappropriate videos of the women as they left the pub and posted those videos online inviting immoral comments.
The videos of preying on women were documented in the police presence outside the pubs on MG Road, Church Street, and Koramangala in Bengaluru.
The channel’s coverage featured one unrelenting footage of a drunken woman being carried into an auto rickshaw. The woman according to the media reports was unable to actively question or control the camera crew’s activities. The thumbnail for the video reads, “Look at the woman in an auto falling on anyone in sight.”
In another video posted by NewsFirst Kannada, one of the women could be seen getting molested while her partner engaged in a brawl with the suspected molester. The Kannada media channel sensationalized the incident as it posted the video with the caption, “Lover beats up man for molesting ‘his’ woman.”
Several other videos with captions like, “The woman is pouncing on everyone,” “Drunken girl’s whims,” “Drunk woman creates ruckus in Koramangala,” and “Woman not even in the condition to walk,” etc were published by the NewsFirst Kannada media channel.
Similar footage was also shown on other Kannada news networks, such as Public TV and Zee Kannada News. However, though these media houses used visuals that were less persuasive of the women’s faces in comparison, the thumbnails used were quite nasty. “Drunk woman passed out on the road,” “Woman full tight male-friends full tired,” and “Drunk woman loses consciousness on the road” were among the captions published on videos posted by Public TV.
All of these videos’ comment sections quickly overflowed with offensive commentary on the women’s clothing, “insinuating and inviting lewd behavior.”
DCP South East CK Baba took cognizance of the event and said that police would probe into the matter if someone came forward and filed a police complaint. Some of the videos posted by News First Kannada were deleted.
A similar incident was reported in November from Chennai
Earlier, a similar incident was reported from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In November 2023, some of the local media channels in the state of Tamil Nadu crossed their limits and targeted young women for personal revenge. Local media channels like Thanthi TV, Polimer News, NewsTamil 24×7 and others had chased young women, harassed them, and shot their derogatory videos after a group of 5 men levelled scandalous allegations against the pub in Chennai for denying entry to them.
விடிய விடிய சரக்கு பார்ட்டி.. எண்ட்ரி கொடுத்த காவலர்கள்.. அரைகுறை ஆடையில் ஓட்டம் பிடித்த பெண்கள் #chennai #pub #drunken pic.twitter.com/BLPuTcS78i
— சிலம்புச்செல்வி ராஜ்குமார் (@Silambuselviraj) November 20, 2023
Many people were shocked and outraged by Thanthi TV, Polimer News, and News 24×7’s coverage. The shots repeatedly focused on the women’s clothing, with the cameras purposefully taking close shots of their bodies. Despite the women’s clear discomfort, the camerapersons could be seen hounding them, the majority of whom covered their faces with a scarf or dupatta. The camera repeatedly attempted to get close-up shots of the women’s faces.
The headlines flashed by the local media channels including Thanthi TV also targeted women as they screamed, “All-night alcohol party busted by police; half-dressed women ran out during the incident.”
In one video, a woman is seen urging a cameraman to stop filming her and threatening to sue him. To which the cameraman responds angrily, “Go ahead, Get lost.” Thanthi TV edited their post on X as public outrage grew on social media but failed to make it less offensive. “Here’s what the ladies did at night, and how the police arrived at the scene quietly,” the headlines read.
The coverage attempted to portray women wearing whatever they wanted at a pub as an ‘immoral’ activity that had to be stopped by police. The other local media channels also showed women in the wrong picture. However, later the police who arrived at the spot took cognizance of the event and termed the matter to be an event of revenge.
