On September 25, a Muslim woman was assaulted by two people for riding with her Hindu friend in Doddaballapur, 40km from Bengaluru in Karnataka.
The duo who attacked the girl, Akbar and Hujur, objected to the Muslim woman hanging out with her Hindu friend. They questioned the woman about her name and parents, went on to abuse the couple, and even slapped the woman when she refused to tell her name and family’s phone number. After much argument and abuses hurled at the couple, the woman gave up. The accused reportedly made a video of their attack and shared it on social media.
Moral policing case registered by #Doddaballapur police against a person named #Hujur & his associates for assaulting an inter faith couple. A #Hindu boy & a #Muslim girl who were travelling on a bike were stopped, questioned & assaulted.#Karnataka #MoralPolicing #ViralVideo pic.twitter.com/2wkkXcjcyf
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) September 29, 2022
Police have arrested one accused Akbar while the main culprit Hujur is absconding and efforts are being made to arrest him. As per the police investigation, Akbar is an electrician and a resident of Islampur in Doddaballapur.
According to the police, the incident happened on September 25, at around 1:30 pm near Venkateshwaraswamy Temple on Terina Beedi in the town.
Akbar and Hujur, two men riding bikes, stopped the scooter on which the girl was travelling. They found it offensive that a member of their community was dating a Hindu. They recognized the woman based on her Islamic attire.
“We do not tolerate such kind of moral policing and will take strict action against the people responsible,” Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru) Mallikarjun Baldandi was quoted as saying by the Times of India in its report.
“Akbar had filmed the incident and shared it on social media. Bajrang Dal noticed the video and approached police,” he added.
The police also informed that the couple left the place of the incident but did not approach the police or file a complaint. Police traced the couple’s residences and summoned them to record their statement.
“The couple have decided to get married as claimed by them in the video. In the initial probe, we found that they are colleagues working at a private company,” an officer said.
Police registered a case under Indian Penal Code Sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 341 (wrongful restraint), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 354 (criminal force to woman and intent to outrage modesty).
Last year, a similar incident took in Bengaluru when a Hindu man who was riding with a Muslim woman was assaulted and abused. In that case, the two accused were arrested and legal action was taken.
