Times of India
25 Jan 2009
Govt on Mangalore pub assault: Don't Talibanise India
NEW DELHI: Women and child development minister Renuka Chowdhury has termed the assault of girls and boys in a Mangalore pub allegedly by a Hindu
group as an attempt to "Talibanise India" and sought an explanation from the Karnataka government.
"I am absolutely horrified at the insensitivity on the eve of Republic Day. I will seek an explanation from the state government as well as self-styled Sri Ram Sena," Renuka said.
"This incident is an attempt to Talibanise India. There is no place for these kinds of acts in India as it is a democracy," Chowdhury said, adding that BJP leaders should condemn the incident.
The minister also said it was time for chief minister B S Yeddyurappa to "wake up" and take action against the culprits. She said she would speak to Yeddyurappa on the incident.
About 15 to 20 activists, reportedly belonging to Sri Ram Sena, barged into the pub late on Saturday night and assaulted boys and girls dancing there, accusing the teens of behaving in an "obscene manner".
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ndtv.com
India shamed and shocked by monsters of Mangalore
Maya Sharma
Monday, January 26, 2009, (Bangalore)
India has been shamed again. Goons of a right wing Hindu outfit Sri Ram Sena in Mangalore barged into a pub and beat up women over the weekend - in its latest round of moral policing.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has reacted to the incident in Mangalore saying those responsible will be taken to task. He said that the police has been given full authority to take appropriate measures.
The women's only fault was that they were found in the pub. Members of the Sri Ram Sena, who carried out the attack, justified their shameful actions.
More than 15 people have been arrested for the vicious attack as outrage over the incident spreads across the country.
The miscreants have been sent to judicial custody till January 27 and have not been allowed bail. The miscreants have been charged with criminal assault, intimidation, outrage of modesty and criminal trespass.
About 40 men were involved in the attack. Among the arrested are the district secretary and the joint convenor of the Sri Ram Sena.
A special team has been set up to arrest those responsible for the attack. The incident took place over the weekend after the men, completely unrepentant, say they received complaints suggesting the women were dancing 'obscenely' in the pub and they decided to act.
The hooligans chased the girls out, attacked men who tried to protect them, there are also reports that the girls were molested.
"So far we have arrested some people and we are further investigating the situation, we will take strong action," said A M Prasad, Inspector General, West Mangalore.
Talking to NDTV, Karnataka Home Minister VC Acharya said action was being taken against the perpetrators.
This is sadly not an isolated incident of groups taking the law into their own hands - churches and prayer halls around Mangalore were attacked just a few months ago over alleged conversions.
In Bangalore, rave parties on the outskirts of the city were raided - not by police - but by members of the Kannada Rakshana Vedike.
A state that once had a strong image of peace and tolerance seems to be heading in a very different direction now.
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ndtv.com
Ram Sena: The moral brigade?
NDTV Correspondent
Monday, January 26, 2009, (Mangalore)
This is not the first time the Shri Ram Sena has acted as the self appointed moral police in Karnataka.
The first time the Shri Ram Sena was heard of was when they had attacked an M F Husain exhibition at Sahmat on the August 24, 2008.
They had vandalised the whole exhibition and left behind sheets of paper claiming to be the protector of Hindu values.
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Indian Express > Front Page >
Taliban style in BJP’s Karnataka: moral cops assault girls in pub
Agencies Posted: Jan 26, 2009 at 0138 hrs IST
Mangalore: Moral policing reared its head again, this time in BJP-ruled Karnataka where members of a right-wing Hindu group assaulted girls in a Mangalore pub, accusing them of behaving in an “obscene manner”. Eyewitnesses said the girls were chased and thrashed by activists of the Sri Ram Sena as they tried to flee from the pub on the busy Balmatta Road in the heart of Mangalore. There were also allegations that some of the girls were molested.
With the attack causing public outrage and inviting wide condemnation, police swung into action, arresting ten activists of the Sri Ram Sena. They have been remanded to judicial custody until Tuesday on charges of assaulting guests of the pub last night, police said.
“About 15 to 20 activists, reportedly belonging to the Sri Ram Sena, barged into the pub late last night and assaulted boys and girls dancing there,” Inspector General of Police (Western Range) A M Prasad told PTI. He said the attackers accused the pub owner of allowing boys and girls to dance and act in an “obscene manner”.
“These people (attackers) simply came in and started beating the girls.
It was a bad scene. Our waiters tried to stop them but they did not listen and kept assaulting the girls,” pub owner A Krishna said. The incident was immediately condemned by the opposition Congress and the state National Commission for Women which promised to take suo motu action against the culprits while the ruling BJP said it was sure that the state Government would take strict action against the guilty.
In New Delhi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhry described the attack as “an attempt to Talibanise India” and said she would seek an explanation from the Karnataka government on the issue. “I am absolutely horrified at the insensitivity on the eve of Republic Day. I will seek an explanation from the Karnataka government as well as the self-styled Sri Ram Sena.”
“This (the incident) is an attempt to Talibanise India. There is no place for these kind of acts in India as it is a democracy,” Chowdhry said, adding that the BJP leaders should condemn the incident. She said it is time for Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to “wake up” and take action against the culprits. Calling the incident “unfortunate”, Karnataka NCW member Nirmala Venkatesh said the attackers had badly beaten victims, especially girls, and suo-motu action would be taken against them.
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