Karnataka: Group Of Men Barge Into Hotel Room, 'Assault' Interfaith Couple In Haveri

The Haveri SP said that they were not previously informed about rape, but after learning about it, they had filed a case under the necessary sections.

The men reportedly received a tipoff of an interfaith "couple" booking a hotel room.

Source : Getty

Six men reportedly barged into the room of a lodge of an interfaith couple and thrashed them in Karnataka. The incident which took place on January 7 came to light after the couple gave a complaint and narrated the ordeal to the police. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and arrested two persons linked to it. 

A police officer told Indian Express that a couple, a 26-year-old Muslim woman from Uttara Kannada district and a Hindu man from Shivamogga district, both in a consensual relationship, faced assault shortly after checking into a hotel on January 7. 

The men reportedly received a tipoff from an auto driver that an interfaith "couple" booked a room in a hotel. Following this, the accused aged between 23-26 visited the hotel, barged into their room and thrashed the couple. 

The gang filmed the entire assault that occurred inside the hotel room. Police claimed the recordings went viral after being shared on social media networks. 

Later, the woman, who is married and a mother of a 9-year-old girl, told the police that the accused took her to a secluded location where she was subjected to gang rape.

According to ANI, Haveri SP said, "We weren't told about rape earlier. We came to know about this only through media report about the video by the woman. We have booked a case under the appropriate section, investigation is ongoing. As of now we have arrested two in the incident."

 

Couple assaulted in Haveri, Karnataka | Haveri SP says, "We weren't told about rape earlier. We came to know about this only through media report about the video by the woman. We have booked a case under the appropriate section, investigation is ongoing. As of now we have…

— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2024

 

The police said that the accused individuals were not associated with any specific organization. However, they have already been booked in a similar case.

Reacting to the incident, Former Karnataka CM and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai said, "Why the CM is quiet on this issue... We are going to take this very seriously and I want the police to act independently and judiciously. They should take immediate action. They have arrested some people but they have not arrested everyone. So, immediate action should be taken and no one should be spared whether they belong to the ruling party or opposition party..."

Karnataka BJP members demanded the state government to ensure that such incidents do not take place again. State BJP leader CT Ravi said, "The government should take this case seriously and arrest those involved. It should also ensure that such incidents do not take place again. I want to tell the state government that it should refrain from doing vote bank politics."