The district police arrested an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) on the charge of sexually harassing a woman in a private bus at Trasi in Kundapur taluk on Tuesday night.
P.M. Diwakar, circle police inspector, told The Hindu on Wednesday that ASI Devaraj got into the bus from Kundapur to go to Gangolli, his hometown, around 7.30 p.m. Since the bus was half empty, he sat on the ‘ladies’ seat. A woman with two children and husband boarded the bus at Trasi Junction.
The woman and one of the children sat beside Mr. Devaraj. When Mr. Devaraj began harassing her, the woman shouted, and he began abusing her. The other passengers protested against his behaviour. Mr. Devaraj got down at Trasi and caught another bus to Gangolli.
The woman lodged a complaint with the Gangolli police. The police registered a case under Sections 354 A (sexual harassment), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC.
The police arrested Mr. Devaraj from his house at around 11 p.m. on Tuesday. He was produced in the court in Kundapur, which remanded him in judicial custody till June 30, Mr. Diwakar said.
Mr. Devaraj had been recently transferred from the Shankarnarayana police station to the Kundapur police station, but he was yet to join duty there.
