In a shocking incident, four men brutally attacked a youth inside a bus for speaking to a Muslim girl in Karnataka. The incident was reported from Kundapur taluk in Udupi district on Thursday morning.
According to the reports, a 19-year-old youth identified as Shashank, a first-year student at ITI of Bidkalkatte, was assaulted by a gang of four men.
Shashank was travelling by bus with his friends Prajwal and Ganesh, and a Muslim girl who is a B.Sc student. When the bus reached Halady, a gang of four attackers confronted Shashank for speaking with a girl from the Muslim community and assaulted him. They also allegedly warned the victim and his friends and asked them to stay away from the girl.
The police said that three out of the four attackers got down from the bus on the way while only one travelled to Kundapur. Shashank is seriously injured, and he is currently being treated at Kundapur Government Hospital in the city. He has also lodged a complaint against the four at the Shankaranarayana Police Station.
As the news of moral policing and subsequent attacks on the youth spread, activists from pro-Hindu organisations gathered at Shastri Circle of the city to protest against the attacks. DySP Srikanth K, CPI Gopikrishna and PSI Sadashiva Gavaroji visited the spot.
The police have now registered a complaint against the attackers under IPC sections 323, 341, 504, 506 and 295 (A). The police have identified 31-year-old Taufeeq as the main accused, and a search is on to nab all the four attackers. The police also informed that the accused had threatened Shashank against speaking to his friend a few days ago.
This is not an isolated incident, as such incidents of moral policing are regularly reported from Karnataka where Hindu boys are assaulted or threatened for talking with Muslim girls.