Bengaluru, June 23 (IANS) A shocking incident involving the assault and harassment of a homemaker in full public glare has been reported from the Bannerghatta police station limits, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, officials said on Monday.

According to the police, the incident took place on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Renuka Yellamma Layout near Anekal.

An FIR has been registered, and a search has been launched to trace the accused.

The victim has submitted mobile video recordings of the incident to the police as evidence.

Speaking to the media on Monday, the victim said that she was walking to a nearby shop to buy groceries when a group of five to six young men suddenly began abusing her verbally.

“They appeared to be intoxicated. They surrounded me and began misbehaving. They slapped me hard and dragged me across the street,” she added.

“I tried to escape, but they didn’t let me go. I attempted to defend myself by kicking them. Initially, neighbours and onlookers did not intervene. It was only when the gang began attacking me more violently that some neighbours came to my aid. The gang assaulted them as well,” she said.

“I ran home and locked myself inside. The gang chased me, jumped over the gate, and tried to enter the house. They stood outside and continued abusing me,” she added.

“I don’t know who they are. I had just moved into the area with my children. Neighbours told me that the attackers are local residents. Later, one of the accused’s parents came to our house and verbally abused me and those who had tried to help. I feel unsafe and threatened,” she said.

“I went to the police station on Sunday night. The police accepted my complaint but asked me to come again the next day. The FIR was only registered later in the afternoon,” she added.

She appealed for justice, saying, “No other woman should go through what I did. Society must come forward to protect women.”

The police have taken up further investigation into the case.

An FIR was lodged on June 16 against a bike taxi driver for allegedly assaulting a woman passenger within the Jayanagar police station limits in Bengaluru.

In a shocking case, a woman waiting for a bus in Bengaluru’s K.R. Market was gang-raped, and robbed of her jewellery, cash and mobile phone.

The woman lodged a complaint with the women’s police station in the Central division on January 21.

A video showing two young women being targeted by a man in the early hours in a residential locality went viral on social media in April, raising serious concerns over women’s safety in Bengaluru.

Reacting to the rise in incidents of sexual assaults and harassment in Bengaluru during night hours, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara had said that “such incident happens here and there in a big city”.

However, following the backlash, he expressed regret over his remarks.

–IANS

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