MYSURU: The world famous Dasara festival in Mysuru suffered a dent in its image as several women complained of molestation during one of the events held on Saturday. After many of them shared their horrific accounts of physical and verbal abuse on social media, minister H T Devegowda directed police to launch an investigation but police said they have not received any written complaint yet.
The shocking incidents took place when a huge crowd, comprising both locals and tourists, gathered to witness cultural events organised as part of the Open Street Festival on Krishnaraja Boulevard.
Taking advantage of the crowd, the perverts went berserk, passing obscene comments, groping and molesting at will. The incidents led to outrage on social media as many women took to online platforms to narrate their horrific experience in a city known for its civility and friendly people.
“When I was walking near the stalls, a man touched me inappropriately and vanished into the crowd. It came as a shock to me and I could not even respond. My friends searched for him in the crowd but we could not find him,” a girl, who did not wish to be identified, told TNIE. In another incident, a girl who had come from Bengaluru and her cousins from Mysuru were molested.
“We had to encounter multiple men brushing against us and groping us. One of them grabbed my cousin,” she said.
“We immediately left the street after the incident. I have cancelled my plans to attend the other Dasara events,” she said.
According to sources, a mother-daughter duo were stalked till their house by a group of youths, who allegedly misbehaved with them at the festival.
The women approached the police with details of the car in which they were followed. An anonymous online post said: “A guy spanked my back so hard that I fell on my face. This happened when I was with my brother.”After coming to know of the incidents, Higher Education Minister G T Devegowda, who is also in charge of Mysuru district, asked the city police commissioner to launch an investigation.
Delay in switching on streetlights added to trouble, says open street event organiser
Higher Education Minister G T Devegowda, who is also in charge of Mysuru district, said “I have directed the police commissioner to nab the miscreants at the earliest.”
According to the minister, the venue chosen for the event was too small to accommodate the large crowd that gathered, making it easy for perverts to take advantage of the crowd and harass women. He said the next year the event will be held on a wider road.
The firm managing the event reported three incidents of misbehaviour to the police. “We had installed 72 CCTV cameras in the area and the footage has been handed over to the police to help identify miscreants,” Prashanth of Center Stage, which managed the event, said. According to him, the delay in switching on the streetlights added to the trouble.
“We had asked the people concerned to switch on the streetlights early in the evening, but they switched them on only after 7pm,” he said.
Police Commissioner A Subramaneyshwara Rao said his team is looking into the social media posts for any specific information that can help them identify the miscreants.
“We have not received any written complaint yet. It is not possible to take any action based on social media posts that do not have any specific information about the incidents,” he said. A member of the event management team said there weren’t enough police personnel to manage the crowd.”
As per the original plan, 400 police personnel were to be deployed at the venue, but only 40 were manning the crowd,” he said.
The Karnataka State Women’s Commission has said it will initiate a suo motu case in this regard. Commission chairperson Nagalakshmi Bai said, “Such incidents should not have happened, especially during Dasara.” She encouraged the women to reveal the details of the harrasment to bring the culprits to book.