Incensed Bengalurians voice against Karnataka Home Minister post molestation remark

Bangaluru/New Delhi, [India], Jan. 4 (ANI): Bengalurians across the board on Wednesday said that they were ashamed about the mass molestation of girls on December 31. They were particularly peeved with Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara's statement, "such incidents do happen on these occasions". "I think as Bangalurians, we should be ashamed and hang our heads in shame that the community and the society onlookers, spectators did not take any action, did not even go to the rescue of that girl. It is so shameful that these are the same people who are tweeting and posting their stuff on facebook every two seconds. But when it comes to real life, they stand as mute spectators," women activist Brinda Adige said. Adige added, "I also squarely want to place the blame on politicians who make these kinds of statements because of which men think that they can get away with everything. The politicians who continue to put the blame on women to be safe and be protective, they do not want to take the responsibility that the system is not functioning, the mechanism is not efficient, that the judiciary is not punishing the men. The politicians must take this responsibility completely and primarily. They should stop making these shameful and obnoxious statements." The police have the power, they have the authority. They need to start registering the case and believing the woman," Adige added. Expressing similar emotions, Politburo member of CPI (M) Brinda Karat on Wednesday said that it was absolutely ridiculous that the police did not take any action immediately against the culprits. "This happened in the presence of around 1500 policemen, so obviously the government had anticipated big crowds and therefore some untoward incident, but this is not some untoward incident, this is mass molestation, mass molestation in front of the police," she said. She added that the cctv camera showed very long shot and it is not sure whether they will be able to identify and arrest anybody because after all they were unknown people. "They were like hunters packs just going and targeting young women who were there. It is absolutely reprehensible, unacceptable and abhorrent that the Karnataka Home Minister should say that 'these things happen'. I don't know which area he is referring to. Everything happened in the presence of the policemen itself, why do we need to go through the cctv footage? You (the police) all were there and you were deployed in those areas knowing the fact that it is heavily crowded on that occasion. The Home Miniter has given such a derogatory statement which cannot be accepted at any grounds. He does not have the right to be at that position," Karat said. Meanwhile Bengaluru Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said that they are looking into the incident and assured that they have got nothing to hide and also that they are not protecting anybody in particular. "Media was also present on the M.G. Road that day. We have the same footage which media have; the only thing is we are seeing the same footage without blurring it in a context, without editing and without cutting it. If we find any evidence of any molestation we will not hesitate. Our officers have seen the entire footage for very long hours, almost 45-60 camera footage were there. To speed up the things further because it is a huge task, I am referring the case to the City Crime Bureau who will take actions on the basis of whatever they see in the videos," Sood said. Bengaluru has been facing a lot of backlash for the recent mass molestation. Thousands of men on bikes, cars and foot molested and harassed women on M.G. Road despite the presence of policemen.(ANI)