Molestation case: Accused did not act alone, say police

10 men from Kammanahalli, where incident took place, taken into custody

The two men on a two-wheeler, who attacked a woman in Kammanahalli in the wee hours of January 1, were not acting alone, said the police.

“There were two men on bikes watching the entire incident and we believe that they are all known to each other,” said an officer, who is part of a special team investigating the case.

So far, the police have taken 10 men — all from the area — into custody. They had initially rounded up 12 suspects, but two were allowed to leave after questioning on Wednesday afternoon. “The detention was based on CCTV footage, which helped us identify the two-wheelers,” the officer said.

The police have registered a case of molestation and robbery as the video grab shows the accused assaulting and snatching the woman’s purse.

CCTV footage

The incident came to light only after the woman and her friend from the paying guest accommodation approached their neighbour on January 2 requesting the CCTV footage from the cameras he installed a week ago. When the owner, Francis, went through the video grab, he realised the gravity of the situation and urged the women to file a complaint. However, they refused and left his house. They vacated the paying guest accommodation soon after. Francis later made the footage public, after which the police took over the case.

Meanwhile, family members of the suspects gathered at Banaswadi police station accusing the police of making false cases. But the police said they had gathered evidence to build a strong case against the attackers.