Mangaluru: One more person was apprehended in a moral policing case on June 2, taking the total number of arrested to four and one minor detained, said the police, adding that murder and rioting charges have been filed, even as the Hindu workers are crying foul.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar Jain said that an FIR was lodged regarding the case for rioting and attempt to murder under IPC Section 307. Few more accused who are absconding need to be arrested and three special teams are hunting for them, he said.
Police had earlier arrested three persons and detained a minor boy in connection with the moral policing case reported from Someshwara Beach of Mangaluru city in Dakshina Kannada District. The arrested were identified as Yathish, a resident of Bastipadpu in Ullal, Sachin and Suhas residents of Uchhila. The minor boy was their associate. All of them are Hindu activists and affiliated with a Hindu organisation, police said.
The police nabbed Akhil, a resident of Talapady on June 2. The accused had assaulted three students, Jaffer Sharif, Mujeeb and Ashique, who had come to the beach with their female friends on June 1. The victims are students of a Paramedical College in Mangaluru. The accused allegedly observed that students belonged to different religions and followed them. They waylaid the students and asked for their names and addresses and allegedly assaulted both boys and girls.
The victims suffered minor injuries and were admitted to a hospital. The female students shocked by the incident returned to their native places in Kerala state. The assaulted students lodged a complaint with the Ullal Police and the police formed a special team to nab the accused. The incident had taken place on June 1 night.