24-year-old John Richard, one of five men who molested a beautician in Jigani, asked the victim her “price” and then when she protested, he slapped her, the Times of India said in a report.
Richard and Punith alias Kade, 22, Anush Madan, 18, and Arun R, 18 and Richard’s father 55-year-old Anthony were caught assaulting a woman in an inebriated state. The entire assault was captured on CCTV. As the video went viral, it triggered national outrage. Questions were raised about women’s safety in Bengaluru and the police’s delayed response only added to the anger.
The five are now in the custody of Bannerghatta police in connection with the molestation of the 26-year-old victim.
Police officers told the newspaper that the incident occurred in the SRK Layout of Mylasandra on Sunday evening when the beautician had stepped out to buy dairy. Richard led the assault. He didn’t stop, even after one friend tried to pull him back as the victim was trying to make her way through the drunk men loitering on the roadside.
Even after slapping the woman and making the obscene remarks, Richard and his friends did not stop. They then continued their assault, hit the woman and chased her.
A gym trainer known to her emerged and intervened by taking her to a nearby house. The accused followed her there and tried to scale the wall. Richard sustained injuries to his face while scaling the wall. Residents stopped the group from entering the premises.
The victim said that she filed the complaint that evening itself, but the police failed to register the FIR immediately and sent both parties home. In a strange turn of events, Richard’s parents confronted the victim and her family and claimed that their son was innocent.
They only relented when they came to know that the CCTV footage of the incident has gone viral.
The FIR was eventually registered on Monday evening. But in an unusual move, the police filed a second FIR, but this time against the victim and her friends and based on a counter-complaint filed by Richard’s mother, Mary Pushpa.
Senior police officials, according to the report, reprimanded the local police for mishandling the case and warned them against misusing counter-complaints in such cases.
Richard and his father were arrested late Monday, while the other three accused were picked up early Tuesday.
“The investigation is ongoing to determine each accused’s role,” said Bengaluru district SP SK Baba was quoted as saying by the Times Of India.
“Such people shouldn’t be in society. Jail is the place for them. I moved to the area just a week ago, and now I have to live with this trauma,” the victim said while speaking to reporters.