The Dakshina Kannada police have arrested four persons on the charge of assaulting a youth for talking to a girl from another community. The alleged assault occurred near an Indian Oil petrol bunk in Ujire of Belthangady taluk on Tuesday.
The police said the arrested persons are Dinesh and Nitesh, both from Totattady village, Avinash from Somanthadkka village, and Sachin from Mundaje village, all in Belthangady taluk.
The complainant, Mohammed Jahir, said he finished his work at a catering unit in Mangaluru and boarded a KSRTC bus from Mangaluru bound for Chikkamagaluru.
He took a ticket for Charmadi-Kakkinje village and he travelled by sitting next to a Christian girl, who is from the same area. The accused Nitesh was travelling in the same bus.
When the bus reached Belthangady, the girl got off. As the bus stopped near the petrol bunk, in Ujire, around 5.30 p.m., a group of people including the accused persons got into the bus.
Nitesh and the other accused persons made Mr. Jahir alight from the bus. They showed a video clipping of his talk with the girl and assaulted him.
Mr. Jahir’s friend Sameer, who tried to intervene, also received blows. “You are saved this time. But if you repeat the same next time, we will not spare you,” an accused reportedly said, Mr. Jahir said in the complaint to the police.
A video clip showing bystanders asking the accused persons not to harm Mr. Jahir went viral on social media.
Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Vikram Amathe said the complainant, the girl, and the accused persons are from the same area, and know each other.
The four arrested persons have been accused of offences punishable under Sections 323 (voluntary causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
