Now, Bangalore ‘moral cops’ target man for wearing sleeveless tees
March 23rd, 2009 - 6:05 pm ICT by IANSBangalore, March 23 (IANS) ‘Moral police’ seem to be on the prowl again on Bangalore’s streets. This time the target was a man - for wearing sleeveless tees!
Advocate and activist Jagdeesh B.N. was attacked Sunday by five people, on Millers Road in the heart of the city, apparently for wearing a sleeveless t-shirt.
The assault comes after a lull which followed 10 incidents of verbal and physical abuse on women in the tech hub by ‘moral brigade’ in recent times.
“I was on my way back home, riding my cycle at around 4.45 p.m. Sunday. Five people stopped me near the Aiyyappa temple on Millers Road. They hurled abuses at me in Kannada (the language spoken by majority of the people in the state) and warned me for wearing a sleeveless t-shirt,” Jagdeesh told IANS.
Jagdeesh is one of the founder members of Fearless Karnataka/Nirbhaya Karnataka group that spearheaded the movement against increasing attacks on women by moral police in Bangalore and other parts of the state.
“They used foul language and questioned me for wearing a sleeveless t-shirt. But when I replied in Kannada, they realised that I am a local. By the time I tried to call up police on my cell phone, they ran away,” Jagdeesh said.
The advocate has filed a complaint with the police, who said they are investigating the matter. “No arrest has been made,” a police spokesperson said.
Jagdeesh asserted that he was attacked not for being an activist. The FK/NK group was launched Feb 26.
On Friday, a woman was attacked on M.G. Road, a popular hangout.
Since Feb 17, when the first attack on a woman at the upscale Indiranagar area happened, around 10 cases of such incidents have been reported from different areas of the city. All the cases follow a pattern as motorcycle borne attackers physically and verbally abuse women for wearing western outfits.
“If the situation does not improve, we have to carry forward our movement till the city becomes safe for one and all,” Shakun Mohini, a member of Fearless Karnataka, said.
On the M.G. Road attack, police said: “We’ve registered a case and investigations are on.”
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Tags: abuse women, activist, advocate, attackers, cops, foul language, founder members, hangout, heart of the city, hub, indiranagar, karnataka, lull, nk group, physical abuse, police spokesperson, t shirt, target man, tees, western outfits
