Minor assaulted, abducted in Karnataka moral policing case; probe on

Mangaluru (Karnataka), March 19 (IANS) Karnataka police have launched a hunt for activists in a moral policing case in which a 17-year-old boy from a minority community was allegedly assaulted and abducted by a group during a temple fair in Ujire in Mangaluru district, police said on Thursday.

Mangaluru Superintendent of Police K. Arun said that strict action would be taken against those who take the law into their own hands. A special team has been formed to trace the accused, and CCTV footage from the area is being examined as part of the investigation.

According to police, the incident was reported on the evening of March 18 amid the festivities of the Sri Janardhana Swamy temple fair in Beltangady taluk. The boy had reportedly come to the fair with his friends when a group of youths confronted him.

According to the complaint, the group questioned him, asking, “Are you taking girls to a lodge?” and allegedly abused him using derogatory language before physically assaulting him. The accused are also said to have forcibly taken the boy away and made him record a video on a mobile phone. More details are yet to emerge regarding the incident.

Based on the complaint filed by the victim, the Beltangady police have registered a case and launched an investigation. Police have invoked charges of wrongful restraint, assault, kidnapping, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused are linked to a right-wing outfit, Bajrang Dal. The incident has raised concerns over safety and law and order during public events in the region.

Chikkamagaluru police took three people into custody on February 19 on charges of moral policing. The accused allegedly stopped a boy and a girl belonging to different communities while they were returning from school on a bike and questioned them. After receiving information about the incident, police registered a case based on a complaint filed by the boy’s family and arrested the accused — Nayaz, Tabrez, and Haneef.

On July 9, 2025, Vitla police in Mangaluru district took a man into custody in connection with an alleged incident of moral policing. The accused was identified as Padmaraj, a resident of Manjeshwar. The incident took place when the complainant’s minor brother was speaking to his schoolmate at the Vitla private bus stand.

On January 22, 2026, in another incident of moral policing, a group of Muslim youths allegedly attacked some Hindu youths who were with a Muslim girl in Bangarpet during an Urs procession. Police had arrested 10 people in connection with the incident. The complaint was filed by Chandini, who alleged that the accused attacked her and her Hindu friends — Rahul, Purushottam, Lavanya, and Sanjay — who were with her and her brother Rafi.

--IANS

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