A group of Bajrang Dal men attacked and allegedly stabbed a man who was travelling in a private bus to Bengaluru along with his female friend belonging to another religion. Mangaluru city police have arrested four accused, who are members of the Bajrang Dal involved in the case.
Earlier, Mangaluru city police commissioner N Shashi Kumar giving out details of the incident to the media said that the man Aswid Ansar Mohammed and his friend Ashwini Shanubhag, who were classmates before, were heading to Bengaluru in search of a job.
"The incident occurred at around 9.30 pm when a group of Bajrang Dal members stopped the bus in which the man and the woman were travelling and assaulted the man. He was also stabbed by them. The woman, aged 23 also has suffered injuries," the commissioner said.
Meanwhile, soon after the incident, the commissioner formed four teams and nabbed four persons by evening on Friday. The arrested are Balachandra(28) from Attavar, Dhanush Bhandary(25) from Kanduka, Jayaprashanth(27) from Shaktinagar and Anil Kumar(38) from Urwa. Among them, Dhanush is already facing four cases of murder. He is also a rowdy sheeter.
The accused have been booked under section 307(attempt to murder). "In the last three months, as many as 4 such cases of attacks have taken place. We are investigating who instigated them to assault the duo," said the commissioner. He also revealed that the woman has filed a complaint with Kankanady police and the duo knew each other for many years.
"The woman, who is a graduate has stated that she was looking for a digital marketing job in Bengaluru hence she had asked her friend to come along with her. The attackers knew the woman and had seen the duo together many times. However we will also check nearby CCTV footage to identify the attackers," he added.
To prevent such incidents in the future, the additional police personnel will be deployed in public places especially in tourist spots, beaches and bus stands. "Police patrolling and Abbakka team will be vigilant to ensure the safety of the people who travel late in the evening and the night."