Moral Policing Incident: Muslim Woman Harassed in Bengaluru; Four Arrested

Bengaluru, April 11 (NationPress) The Karnataka Police apprehended four individuals, including a minor, on Friday in relation to a moral policing incident occurring within the jurisdiction of the Chandra Layout police station in Bengaluru.

The suspects allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for conversing with a young man from a different community. They verbally harassed her and made attempts to physically assault her.

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

According to police reports, Mohsin is employed as a scrap dealer, while Mansoor works as a tailor, and both Afridi Pasha and Waseem Khan are welders.

DCP (West) S. Girish remarked on Friday, “Within the area overseen by the Chandra Layout police station, a boy and girl were seen seated on a motorcycle in front of a park. Upon noticing them, a group of four to five men approached and began questioning them. The woman was wearing a burqa.

“The suspects interrogated her about the reason for her presence there and whether she had informed her family. Following the young woman’s complaint, we initiated a case and arrested the four suspects. We have also detained the minor involved,” the DCP stated.

When questioned if the act was premeditated or if the accused had any specific intent, DCP Girish replied, “They observed the girl in a burqa sitting with a boy and questioned her. There does not seem to be any definitive intention behind it. The investigation will uncover more facts. No violence transpired during the incident, and further details will emerge as the inquiry progresses.”

As per police sources, the woman, dressed in a burqa, was engaged in conversation with a young man from another community who was on his motorcycle in the Chandra Layout vicinity.

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

The group reportedly insulted her and demanded she provide her family’s phone numbers to contact them directly.

However, the woman stood firm and confronted the group, questioning their intrusion into her personal affairs. She reportedly told them that the individual she was conversing with was her classmate and inquired why she should disclose her family’s contact details.

Infuriated by her response, the group allegedly tried to assault both the woman and the youth. The accused later disseminated a video of the two conversing on social media, which gained widespread attention.

After the video circulated, some Hindu organizations and activists raised concerns and challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, questioning whether this incident constituted moral policing.

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

The Chandra Layout police promptly registered a case and took action by arresting the suspects.

In a horrifying event reported from Hangal town on January 8, 2024, a woman was allegedly dragged out of a hotel after being seen with an individual from another community and subsequently assaulted.

The victim, who belonged to the minority community, stated that while she was at the hotel, a group of five to six men broke in, questioned her, and forcibly took her on their motorcycles.

She claimed that they transported her to a secluded area and brutally assaulted her, and all of them raped her.

Later, they compelled her to enter a car, where the driver also raped her. Her nightmare did not end there, as she was taken to other locations and gang-raped.

The police arrested the perpetrators after the victim released a video and called for action.