MANGALURU: At least 21 incidents of ‘moral policing’ have come to light in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi so far in the year 2021, in which friends from different faiths travelling or hanging together were harassed or attacked by members of right-wing vigilante groups in the name of love jihad.
In fact, the frequency of such incidents has increased in the last few months. Ironically, unlike in a moral policing incident that took place in Sadduguntepalya police limits in Bengaluru on September 17 in which the police arrested two accused after filing a suo-motu case, the coast did not witness such swift action by cops in similar incidents.
No case was filed with respect to more than half of the incidents that came to light (despite video evidence) stating that no one lodged a complaint. Even with regard to incidents in which FIRs were filed, the action followed a few days after the incident and that too mostly after the media took it up vigorously. Generally, in such cases, the harassment of victims does not stop with the intervention of police.
The cops after escorting the victims to the police station from the troublesome spot, summon their parents and ask them to ‘discipline’ their wards. Such a behaviour of cops discourages the real victims to come forward and lodge a complaint against their harassers.
Suresh Bhat Bakrabail, an activist who keeps a record of communal incidents in the DK and Udupi, noted that there is a spike in communal incidents, especially moral policing, since last few months. Given the timing of such incidents, he said it looks like the incidents are intended to build pressure on the government to bring in a law against ‘Love Jihad’ on lines of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
“The government also needs some excuse to bring in such a law,” he alleged. A senior police officer who did not wished to be named, termed the spike incidents as a disturbing trend but maintained that they cannot do much unless there is a complaint.
Five Bajrang Dal activists held, released on bail
Mangaluru: The Mangaluru city police arrested and later released on bail five Bajrang Dal activists in a case of ‘moral policing’ that took place near the Surathkal tollgate in the city on Sunday evening. In a video that has gone viral, the Bajrang Dal activists are seen blocking an SUV carrying MBBS students of a private medical college in Mangaluru, yelling at its occupants and also trying to assault them even as boys and girls looked frightened.
Mangaluru North Traffic Police Inspector Mohammed Shariff, who was passing on the same route, intervened and stopped the situation from going out of control. A complaint filed by one of the affected students, Savio T Alphonse, stated that he and his two friends, Vijay and Shamila, were returning from a picnic at Malpe beach when some bike-borne men waylaid their four-wheeler near Surathkal tollgate at 6.30 pm. They asked for their names and addresses and then assaulted them. Police Commissioner N Shashikumar said the accused told cops that they were tipped off by some people.
Home minister condems incidents
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra condemned the increasing incidents of moral policing in the coastal district. Jnanendra said tht it has come to his notice and he will take steps to ensure that such cases do not recur in future. Condemning the incident, he warned that the government will take stringent action against those taking law into their hand.