Bajrang Dal members attack 'students of different faith for travelling together'

Karnataka Police said five Bajrang Dal members allegedly manhandled MBBS students - boys and girls - travelling together in a car after learning that they belonged to different faiths. The miscreants have been booked under IPC Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), and were released on bail. Separately, five people were held for trying to extort a young couple after recording their private moments in a car

Mangaluru (Karnataka):Bajrang Dal activists attacked a group of MMBS students retuning after a picnic in Mangaluru, the coastal city of Karnataka on Sunday. Police said five members of Bajrangal, the youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, have been arrested on the charges of moral policing. They have been booked under IPC Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), and were released on bail. Police identified the accused as Preetham Shetty, Arshith, Srinivas, Rakesh and Abhishek.

Six MBBS students, all studying in the same private college, had been to the beach in Malpe, a popular picnic spot in the neighbouring Udupi district. The students comprised men and women, belonging to two faiths. During their return, the Bajrang activists stopped their car near a check post, some 20km away from Mangaluru city and questioned them what faith they belonged to. Upon learning that the male students belonged to a certain community and the women from another, they allegedly assaulted the male members.

Traffic inspector Sharif rushed to the spot and prevented the situation from spiralling further, police said. "The complainants stated that they were returning from a picnic. All the students are studying in the same college. The accused claimed that the attack was carried out because they belonged to different religions," Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said. Democratic Youth Federation of India expressed outrage over granting bail to the accused and demanded that they be re-arrested.

5 held for trying to blackmail, extort young couple

In another case, Karnataka Police on Wednesday arrested five people for trying to extort a young couple after taking their private video while they were seated in their car, police said. The incident took place on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

The accused are identified as Ashif (29), Nawaz Pasha (22), Liyakhat Pasha (30), Salman Khan (28) and Roohid (26). All of them are drivers and residents of Handenahalli village, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

According to police, the incident took place on September 25. The young couple had been to a private place in their car to spend some time together. At about 12 pm, the accused came as a gang and told the couple that they had recorded the couple's private moments on phone. They demanded Rs5 lakh from the couple and threatened to leak the video on social media if they did not oblige. As the gang saw a few people approaching, they fled from the spot.

The woman, in her complaint, said the men held her hand and tried to drag her out of the car, besides making vulgar remarks.

The accused have been booked under IPC Sections 354 (A) (sexual harassment), 354 (D) (stalking), 354 (B) (assault or using criminal force), 354 (C) (voyeurism), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 384 (extortion).