Such incidents do happen, says K'taka minister on molestation of girls
Many women were allegedly molested by drunk men in Bengaluru's MG Road and Brigade Road on New Year.
Bengaluru: Terming the reports of mass molestation of women in Bengaluru’s MG Road and Brigade Road on New Year as unfortunate, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said such ‘incidents happen’ and that the issue would be looked into.
"Unfortunately, what is happening is that on days like New Years, Brigade Road, Commercial Street, or MG road, a large number of youngsters gather. And youngsters were almost like westerners. They tried to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing. So some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen," Parameshwara said.
“It's unfortunate, we had installed over 25 CCTVs, will examine the issue,” he added.
Reiterating the minister’s stand, Karnataka DGP Om Prakash said, “Since such reports have come, we will identify the culprits and take all necessary actions.”
Read: Bengaluru: Women molested by drunk men in front of cops on New Year?
The statement came after media reports claimed that many women, who had gathered to usher in the New Year, were harassed and molested by drunk men posing as revellers in Bengaluru’s MG Road and Brigade Road.
The city police officials had earlier claimed that not a single molestation case has been filed by anyone.
Nagendra Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, said, “We got around 450 calls at the city control room when on Saturday night, especially after 10 pm till wee hours in the morning, and not even one was about women being assaulted or molested.”
According to reports, the city police had deployed at least 1,500 police personnel in the area in anticipation of huge turn out for New Year celebrations. But they were heavily out numbered and left powerless, even as women came running to them with stilettos in hand, in an attempt to flee the pawing and abusive men who went on a rampage.
The cops were forced to pick and choose cases ‘depending on the gravity of the situation’, the report claimed, adding that in many cases, men harassing women in groups returned to the same spot despite being chased away several times.