Gang of six men assault interfaith couple inside hotel room in Haveri, two arrested
Haveri (Karnataka), Jan 11: In a case of moral policing, a gang of six men allegedly barged into a hotel room and assaulted an interfaith couple during their stay in Hanagal Taluk of Haveri district, following which two of them have been arrested, police said on Thursday.
The incident happened on January 8. At 1 pm, a 26-year-old married woman who belongs to a minority community checked into the hotel room with a KSRTC driver aged 40, with whom she has been in a relationship for the past three years, they said.
The entire assault which happened inside the hotel room was filmed by the gang. The videos later became viral after they got circulated on social media platforms, police said.
In one of the purported videos, six men could be seen knocking on the door of a room. When a man opens the door, the assailants could be seen barging in and heading towards the woman. The gang verbally abused the couple, assaulted them and filmed the woman while she tried to cover her face with a burqa.
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According to police, when the couple entered the hotel, they were spotted by an auto rickshaw driver. Seeing the woman clad in a burqa with a man from another community, he immediately alerted the gang of local men who also belonged to the minority community. Within 15 minutes, a gang of six men aged between 23 and 26, arrived at the hotel and started searching for the couple.
They allegedly barged into the hotel room and started attacking the couple. Seeing them, the woman tried to cover her face, but they assaulted them and questioned their presence at the hotel. They also eventually dragged them out of the room, a senior police officer said.
The gang who arrived on three motorcycles drove the couple to an isolated place which was about a kilometer away from the hotel. Upon reaching there, they started thrashing the couple. They also abused the woman and hit her with sticks, he said.
Thereafter, the gang gave her Rs 500 and told her to go to her native place. She later went to Sirsi where her husband lives. She has a seven-year-old girl child, the police officer said, and added that the gang fled from the place.
The police got to know about the matter only a day after the incident and taking cognisance of the issue, they traced the couple. Based on a complaint from the victim, a case was registered on Wednesday and two men who were involved in the incident were arrested.
Though the woman has not stated about any gang rape in her recorded statement, her husband has alleged that she was raped by the accused gang but he has not given a written complaint in this regard so far, the officer said.
The accused members are not affiliated to any organisation, police said, adding the two arrested so far do not have any criminal background but that needs to be verified.
“We have arrested two of the gang members. The third suspect has been hospitalised since he met with an accident a day after the alleged incident. Once he is discharged, he will be taken into custody. We have already identified the remaining three suspects and they will also be nabbed soon. Our team has been trying to trace them. We also have video evidence of the assault,” the police officer added.
Presently, a case under sections 354 (b) (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 363 (kidnapping), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 448 (house trespass), 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered, according to the police.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
