Karnataka: Haveri moral policing and gang rape case shake state, woman reveals new details

Karanataka, India

A harrowing development in a moral policing case in Haveri city has sent shockwaves across the Indian state of Karnataka. A young Muslim woman from the state has come forward with allegations of gang rape against seven men who attacked her and her interfaith partner when the assailants forcibly entered a hotel room. 

The victim, involved in an interfaith relationship, revealed the horrifying details during her testimony before a judicial magistrate, which turned the case initially perceived as moral policing into a graver one. 

The woman survivor involved in the incident narrated her traumatic experience saying, "I pleaded with folded hands, but they paid no heed. Later, three of them dropped me off at a bus stop from where I managed to reach home. While I don't know their names, I will be able to identify them if they are presented in front of me."

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The distressing incident unfolded just four days ago on January 8 in Hangal town and three suspects, identified as Aftab Maqbul Ahmed Chandanakatti, Madarasab Mohammad Isak Mandakki, and Abdul Khader Jafersab Hanchinamani, have been apprehended by the police.

At the time of the incident, the woman was accompanied by her male partner. After the seven men thrashed the Muslim woman and a Hindu man, they allegedly took the woman to a wooded area near Nalkuru Cross of Hangal.

There, the seven men allegedly subjected her to sexual assault. All of them are now facing rape charges. A video of the gruesome incident is now going viral on social media where the men can be seen thrashing the interfaith couple. 

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The alleged gang rape has also triggered a political turmoil in Congress-ruled Karnataka.

Political reactions 

The party at the centre, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress of not taking any action because of the religion of the accused men. 

"This is the level of law and order in Karnataka. But the voluble and loud Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Congress ecosystem, and spokespersons, all of them are maintaining pin drop silence. Why is it because Karnataka is Congress-ruled or because of the religion of the accused, based on which they will selectively express outreach and selectively remain silent?" BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

This incident followed a separate incident that transpired on January 6, where seven men were arrested in Belagavi. Their crime was allegedly assaulting two cousins whom they mistook to be an interfaith couple.

(With inputs from agencies)