A group of 10 right-wing activists allegedly harassed and abused two inter-faith college students from Kaup taluk of Udupi district when the duo were returning after visiting Sirimane Falls near Sringeri on August 22. A case in this regard was registered at Kaup police station on September 21, after a video clip and photographs of the alleged harassment went viral on the social media.
In a complaint to Kaup police, the woman’s brother said his elder sister, aged 23, had gone with her friend from another community, who is a resident of Katapady, on the latter’s motorcycle, to Sirimane Falls, about 70 km from Kapu, on August 22. As the two were returning from the falls, a group of 10 right-wing activists waylaid the motorcycle around 2.30 p.m., a few metres away from the falls.
The activists abused the two for moving together. One of the activists took the mobile phone of the woman’s friend to call her brother. The activist asked the brother to come to Agumbe police station. The brother went to Agumbe police station with his relative and brought his sister and her friend back to Kapu.
On September 21, the brother saw photographs and a video clip of his sister and her friend’s visit to Sirimane Falls and harassment of the couple circulating on some WhatsApp groups. These images were also posted on the Facebook account of one Yashodhar Yashu and also on an Instagram account with comments abusing and maligning the couple, the brother said in the complaint.
The Kapu police registered a case for offences punishable under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred between classes), and 354D (stalking) read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Further action will be taken as per the law,” Udupi Superintendent of Police K. Arun told The Hindu. No one has been arrested so far.
The alleged harassment in Sirimane Falls is the first incident of moral policing reported in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts in September 2023. Since January 2023, a total of 12 moral policing incidents have been reported in the twin districts of which eight were reported since July, after the Congress took charge of the government of Karnataka.
Responding to the increase in moral policing incidents in the coastal belt, the Minister in charge of Dakshina Kannada, Dinesh Gundu Rao, went on record earlier that communal forces were doing it intentionally to tarnish the image of the Congress government, and to project an increase in incidents after the Congress took over. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parameshwara too had gone on record warning that such incidents will be dealt with sternly.
