7 men who assaulted interfaith couple charged with violation in Karnataka

PTC News Desk: In a disturbing turn of events, the case of moral policing in Karnataka's Haveri district has escalated to include gang-rape charges against seven Muslim men. The incident unfolded when the men assaulted a woman and her partner inside a hotel, condemning their interfaith relationship.

The distressing episode, which occurred on January 7, only came to light after the victims bravely shared their harrowing experience with the police, leading to the registration of a case against the accused. According to the woman's statement to the magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the accused left her partner in the hotel room but forcibly took her along, subjecting her to further physical assault before abandoning her near the lodge.

Upon learning of the incident, lodge staffers reported it to the police on January 10. Subsequently, the police registered a case against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including unlawful assembly, rioting, house-trespass, voluntarily causing hurt, outraging a woman's modesty, compelling a woman to be naked, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation. Three of the seven men, namely Aftab, Madarasahab, and Abdullah Khader, were arrested.

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As the investigation progressed, the assaulted woman filed a complaint on January 10, prompting the addition of charges under kidnapping, causing hurt with dangerous weapons, and insulting the modesty of a woman. On January 11, the woman's partner lodged another complaint, leading to the inclusion of an attempt-to-murder charge (Section 307) in the case. Finally, following the woman's statement before the magistrate, the most severe charge of gang-rape (Section 376(D)) was added to the case, marking a grim turn in this distressing incident.

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(Inputs from agencies)