Custodians of Hindu culture' barge into party; molest girls

Mangalore, July 28: The self-proclaimed custodians of Indian culture have once again unleashed their fury against partygoers in the coastal city by mercilessly thrashing helpless young women at a resort on Saturday.

A group of around 50 miscreants, said to be activists of Hindu Janajagrana Vedike, all of a sudden barged into Morning Mist Home Stay at Padil, here, and beat up a group of young women and men, claiming the women were violating traditional Indian values.

They pushed around the revellers, including four women and as many men. A girl who tried to escape from their clutches was dragged back and thrashed.

Sources said that when the revellers pleaded that they were attending a birthday party, an HJV activist slapped one of them, who they had found without a shirt. Women revellers were slapped and jostled, too, forcing them to take cover in one of the rooms. The attackers tried to force the girls to show their faces to a TV crew that had already arrived there.

The recurrence of boorish moral policing has shocked partygoers of Mangalore, which had witnessed a major pub attack by Sri Ram Sena in January 2009.

One of the staff of the resort accused the intruders of assaulting and manhandling girls. “They misbehaved with girls and assaulted them mercilessly. It was a horrible scene,” he said.

However the activists have justified the attack saying that the young men and women were spoiling the culture of India through their semi-nude dressing and indecent behaviour.

Arrests

Mangalore police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said that four HJV activists have been arrested in connection with the incident.

"Steps will be taken against the visual-media crew who connived with the attackers in going to the resort instead of informing police. We'll move the media regulatory body against them for creating a nationwide tamasha," he said.

Police whisked the revellers away to prevent further attacks. Deputy commissioner NS Channappa Gowda said he was not sure how many persons had descended on the resort.

As news of the attack spread, locals gathered at the resort to condemn the authorities' failure to check such attacks. Police had to resort to a mild cane charge to disperse them.

Chief minister Jagadish Shettar directed home minister R Ashoka to get a report on the attack. State Women's Commission chairperson C Manjula decried the attack and asked the government to punish the culprits.

The mob attack found some supporters too. Corporator Mohan Padil, who arrived at the resort, demanded action against the revellers. Police evicted him. Jagadish Shenava, a local VHP leader, said the incident showed authorities had failed to stop "indecent activities" at private resorts. "We have repeatedly informed the authorities concerned about such incidents," he said, but no action was taken. The deputy commissioner said he had not received any complaint from anybody.

Jagadish Karanth, state president of HJV, accused the police chief of allowing "such incidents" to go on unchecked.

KL Ashok, state president of Karnataka Komu Souhardha Vedike, condemned the incident as "yet an attack on human rights in the name of culture".

Protest

Following the incident, the youth Congress party workers staged a protest in front of th Pandeshwar Police station on Saturday night demanding the release of victims, who were assaulted by the moral brigade.

Youth Congress president Mithun Rai said that the victims had taken permission from their parents and had gathered at the resort for a birthday party.

“Till they are released and culprits arrested, we will not move from this place,'' he said. He said Youth Cong will call its core committee meeting on Sunday to decide about all college bandh on Monday. What right they have got to take law into their own hands. They had gathered with permission and nothing immoral as alleged was going on,'' Rai added.

Police sources said the main culprits have not been arrested, but six, including the local corporator was taken into custody for protesting near the resort at Padil.

Related:

Did TV channel crew enjoy molestation of helpless girls by Hindutva activists?