BENGALURU: A 24-year-old Jharkhand-based woman techie and her friend were allegedly groped by a gang of unidentified men and assaulted repeatedly in Indiranagar. Though the injured victim approached Jeevanbima Nagar police the same night, police reportedly refused to file an FIR and instead, told them they were busy with election duty. A police officer from East division said, “I have asked for a departmental inquiry about not registering an FIR even after seven days and disciplinary action will be taken against the staff once the report is submitted.”
The complainant, Sunil Hosamani, and his friend had alleged in the complaint that on May 9, around 2 am, they had come to Empire Hotel for dinner and while returning home on their bike, two men passed objectionable comments at them and also pulled her hair. Angry over their misbehaviour, Sunil got down from the bike and questioned them.
Then they punched him and started gagging the woman who raised an alarm. A few minutes later, the gang of seven men followed Sunil and his friend and dragged them inside a playground near a government school. They kept assaulting the duo and one of them hit Sunil with a brick. As he lost consciousness, they started pulling the woman’s clothes and a passerby, who noticed the incident, rescued her.
Sunil, a resident of Tippasandra told TNIE, “We both managed to call Hoysala police soon after the incident and they rushed to the spot. One of the policemen helped the two accused men to escape. I had punched the men back when they started hitting me.
They had injuries on their hands when they attacked us with a brick. Instead of taking them into custody, the police officials asked them to leave the scene. Later, I took my friend to a private hospital for treatment and I went alone to the station to file the case. The staff in the police station told me they are busy with election duty and are not being able to file the case. I, however, called the police station after three days and asked why the case was still not filed. They reassured me that action will be taken and I will receive a message. Upset over the delay, I posted the same on my Facebook account and also contacted the city police commissioner to raise a complaint about it. Finally, an FIR was registered on May 16.”
“Even though I had given details of the bike used by the gang, the police did not bother to arrest anyone so far. It showed their negligence over the case. The gang repeatedly attacked my friend as she was not able to understand local language. She hails from Ranchi in Jharkhand and we both work in a private software company near our house. They also snatched Rs 4,000 in cash from me by threatening me at knife-point,” Sunil alleged.