A sub-inspector attached to Subramanyapura police station is in the dock after a video of him and his staff torturing an accused in a sexual harassment case was uploaded on social media. Though the case and the incident dates back to May this year, the video clip was uploaded on Thursday, said a police officer. “The clip shows PSI Srikante Gowda and his staff torturing a man.”
DCP North N. Shashi Kumar has ordered an inquiry and instructed the jurisdictional ACP to submit a report at the earliest. The police are also probing who shot the video and uploaded it.
The accused, Yeshwanth, worked as an AC technician. He was allegedly harassing a 21-year-old woman who was a ticket collector in the parking lot of a mall.
“He worked in the same building and somehow managed to get her mobile number,” said a police officer.
On May 10, Yeshwanth called her and asked her to come near Rajajinagar Soap Factory from where they both went on a bike towards Nelamangala. When they reached an isolated spot on the highway, he allegedly misbehaved with her.
In her complaint to the police, the woman said, following the incident, he started blackmailing and sexually harassing her. The police registered a case under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC. By then, she had quit her job.
On his arrest, Yeshwanth denied the charge and demanded proof of the crime. PSI Srikante Gowda was investigating the case.
The video has left the police red in the face, especially since Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, after taking over, said that he wanted the force to project a more people-friendly image. “I have directed the jurisdictional DCP to take strict action against the officials involved,” said Rao.
Yeshwanth is in judicial custody.
