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Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on May 3, 2023
‘Moral policing’ in Karnataka: Four arrested for ‘assaulting’ Muslim youth for talking to Hindu classmate
The incident happened at Puttur in the Dakshina Kannada district. When Mohammed Parees was talking to his classmates, the accused called him aside and allegedly assaulted him
The incident occurred around 1 pm when Mohammed Parees, aged 17-18, was at a juice parlour with his female classmates from the government pre-university college in Puttur. (File)
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‘Moral policing’ in Karnataka: Four arrested for ‘assaulting’ Muslim youth for talking to Hindu classmate
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In a suspected incident of moral-policing, a Muslim youth was allegedly assaulted by four persons for talking to a Hindu girl at Puttur in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district.
The police have arrested four accused, including an autorickshaw driver, who are suspected to be members of Bajrang Dal. The police, however, have not been able to establish their affiliation with Bajrang Dal or any other right-wing outfit.
The accused have been identified as S Pradeep (19), a resident of Olamogru village, Dinesh Gowda (25) from Kedambadi, Nishant Kumar (19) from Guthumane and Prajwal (23), a resident of Aryapu village, police sources said.
The incident happened on Tuesday when the victim, Mohammed Parees (18), a resident of Mareel Kadumane and a student of Class 12, was talking to a girl classmate at a fruit juice parlour.
According to the complaint, Parees and the girl went to watch a Tulu movie in the morning and after returning around 1 pm they were drinking fruit juice at the parlour when some students of Mahalingeshwara ITI college and autorickshaw driver Dinesh called Parees and said they wanted to talk to him. They allegedly took him in the autorickshaw to an isolated place and bashed him up.
In the FIR Parees said, “They assaulted me questioning why I went to a movie with a Hindu girl and why I talked to Hindu girls. Later, they threatened me not to complain or inform the police about the incident.”
Superintendent of Police, Dakshina Kannada, Amathe Vikram said they have arrested the accused and they are probing if the accused have any affiliation with any organisation. “Till now we have not been able to establish the accused’s affiliation with Bajrang Dal or any other outfit,” he added.
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The incident has come at a time when the Karnataka Congress has promised to take “decisive action” against the Hindu right-wing group Bajrang Dal for “spreading hatred among communities” if the party is voted to power in the Assembly elections slated for May 10.
Meanwhile, the BJP has condemned the Congress manifesto promise and some Hindu organisations on Thursday organised a ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ chanting event in protest against the Congress move.
The police have registered a case under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 365 (kidnap), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 149 of the Indian Penal Code.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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