Bangalore: The Doddabelavangala police have arrested four people, including three software engineers, for allegedly assaulting a Nagaland couple on Saturday. The incident was reported in Nrityagrama near Hesaraghatta. The police are yet to ascertain whether the accused passed racial remarks against the couple. The accused, meanwhile, claimed that the woman who slapped them first for questioning the couple for involving in a drag race.
The accused have been identified as Harish, Mahesh, Anant and Ratan, all residents of Thalaghattapura. All the accused are software engineers except Ratan, who runs a gym. They have been accused of assaulting Merin Shitio and her husband Chumdemo Shitio, a couple hailing from Nagaland and settled in the city for the last few years. They are currently residing in Kammanahalli and work in software companies.
The couple along with their friend Shekhar Ghosh, who is from Ranchi, had come to Nrityagrama. Merin Shitio’s has stated in her complaint that she had come to learn car driving, as there was a ground spread across many acres. As she was driving, the car tyre got punctured. While her husband was replacing the tyre, four men in a Duster came near them and passed racial comments. When the couple objected, the men allegedly assaulted them with an umbrella, which they snatched from the woman, and also slapped her. Then the accused fled from the scene.
“Though the incident took place on Saturday evening, the complaint was filed on Sunday, as they had gone to Soladevanahalli police station, which falls under the Bengaluru city police commissionerate. There they were guided to Doddabelevangala station. They had noted down the registration number of the vehicle which helped us track down the accused on Monday,” the police said.
“When the accused were questioned, they said that they had gone to Nrityagrama for sightseeing and found the couple indulging in drag racing. They were reportedly driving the car in a rash and negligent manner. The accused stopped them and asked them to drive slowly as villagers walk there. The couple, however, took objection and abused the youth. This led to a quarrel between them. The accused claim that the woman slapped one of them and then they slapped her back. The statements are being verified as there was no one else at the scene except the couple and the accused people,” said Doddabelavangala Sub-Inspector Balaji.
Bengaluru Rural SP Ramesh B. said that the accused have been arrested. “We are still questioning them to know whether they passed racial comments against the couple. We are also getting information from the complainant,” he said. The Doddabelavangala police have taken up cases under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC. Further investigations are on.
