Mangaluru: Three persons were arrested and a minor detained in connection with a moral policing case reported from Someshwara beach in the district, police said on Friday June 2.
The arrested are identified as Yathish, a resident of Bastipadpu in Ullal, Sachin and Suhas, residents of Uchchila. The minor boy was their associate. All of them are activists affiliated with a Hindu organisation, police said.
The accused had attacked three students who had come to the beach with their female friends on Thursday. The victims are students of a Para-Medical College in Mangaluru. The accused observed that the three male students belonged to different religions and followed them.
They waylaid the students and had asked for their names and addresses and assaulted the boys. The victims suffered minor injuries and were admitted to a hospital. The female students shocked by the incident had returned to their native places in Kerala.
The attacked students lodged a complaint with the Ullal police and the police had formed a special team to nab the accused. The incident had taken place on Thursday night.
Following the incident, security has been beefed up at the Someshwara beach and police patrolling has been scaled up in the region.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had stated that he won’t tolerate incidents of moral policing in the state and gave a stern direction for the police to act strictly with such cases.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar Jain stated that an FIR was lodged regarding the case for rioting and attempt to murder under IPC Section 307. “Few more accused who are absconding need to be arrested and three special teams are hunting for them,” he stated.
BJP leader Satish Kumpala, leaders from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal visited the police station and questioned the police. They demanded that “innocent” Hindu activists should be released. Police Commissioner Kuldeep Jain assured them that if the arrested accused turned out to be innocent in the investigation, they would be released.
“The incident occurred after the Congress government assumed power in the state. The students belonging to different religions had come to the beach and behaved indecently at the sacred place of Hindus. The Hindu activists only questioned them on that. Though, questioning is wrong, one will get agitated if misbehaviour is found at religious places. The police department should also look into this. The arrest of innocents is not tenable. The incidents like this should not be encouraged,” BJP leader Satish Kumpala stated.
“The police have assured that innocents would be released. It is not that they are our activists, we have come here when their family members have requested,” he said.
