Despite heavy security deployment, incidents of harassment of women were reported on M.G. Road and Koramangala where thousands of men and women had gathered to ring in the New Year on Tuesday night.
The Ashok Nagar police arrested two persons and detained two others for misbehaving with women in separate incidents. The victims had come to witness the celebrations on M.G. Road on Tuesday night. The accused have been identified as Ateeq, 20, and Shivakumar, 35, who were arrested, and Ramu and Siddu, who were detained. All have been charged with outraging the modesty of women.
According to a senior officer, Shivakumar had misbehaved with a woman when she was riding pillion on a motorcycle with her male friend who was trying to negotiate through the crowd at Brigade Road junction. The victim alerted the civil defence personnel who were standing nearby.
The police said Shivakumar misbehaved with women staff of the civil defence in plain cloth as well when she confronted him. The accused was caught and taken to the Ashok Nagar police station.
Earlier, Ateeq, from Tamil Nadu, was caught by a victim after he misbehaved with her by taking advantage of the crowd that had gathered at Opera junction. The victim caught him and started beating him up before he was handed over to the police.
The other accused, Siddu and Ramu were detained for similar offences.
A similar incident was reported in Koramangala 5th Block too where thousands had gathered for the New Year revelry. A woman accompanied by friends had come to witness the celebrations when she was harassed by a group of unruly revellers, following which she complained to the police who were busy handling the crowd.
The police said the visibly disturbed woman was crying and shouted for help, after which an officer, who rushed to the spot, conducted an inquiry. However, no official complaint has been filed so far.
Inebriated revellers
The police also had a tough time handling inebriated revellers. They said a girl was found unconscious on the footpath, allegedly due to excessive consumption of alcohol with her anxious friends gathered around her. After inquiry, the police summoned a Hoysala vehicle and shifted the woman to a hospital.
The police also rescued a youth in semi-conscious condition bleeding from the mouth and nose. The victim was taken to the hospital and police are awaiting his recovery to question him. “We suspect that he was drunk and fell down and sustained injuries,” an officer said, adding that there could also be a possibility that he could have been attacked and beaten up, the officer added .
Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the police have been directed to take stern action against the accused.
Bhaskar Rao, police commissioner, assured of strict action against troublemakers and said the police are verifying the CCTV footage to identify the accused. The police would initiate suo motu action if the victims failed to file a formal complaint, he said.
Drunk driving cases
The traffic police had launched a special drive against drunk driving and booked 426 such cases between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said the vehicles of violators have been seized and notices have been slapped against them after impounding their Driving Licenses.
The violators have also been booked under rash, negligent and dangerous driving and the police have recommended suspension of their DLs for six months to RTO officials.
