Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jul 21: A drunken man, who tried to play mischief after following a woman at Saligrama in the district on national highway, was beaten up and turned over to policemen by the locals. The incident occurred on the night of Saturday July 19.
Prashant, son of Gujjarabettu Nagappa Amin from Tottam near Malpe was returning after visiting the parental home of his wife at Kundapur in a motor bike. While passing through Karkada near Saligrama, he saw a woman pedestrian walking by the road at around 8 pm. It was raining at the time and the movement of people was sparse, it is said. He parked his motor bike by the roadside and followed the woman, who was alone. When he started misbehaving with her, the woman hit him with her umbrella and shouted for help. A number of people gathered at the spot and hit the man, who tried to escape from their ire by claiming to have lost his way because of heavy rain.
The woman, who works for a private concern at Bangalore, had been on a visit to her native place, It is gathered. She was returning home after visiting a family friend named Dr K V Thunga.
During further questioning, it came to light that the man had faced people's ire in the past too after getting involved with similar incidents, and that reports about such incidents had been filed in different police stations.
Some persons who saved the man from the clutches of the crowd, brought him to a side street and called the police. The policemen who arrived there later, wanted to know from the crowd who had thrashed him. When a person from the crowd questioned how else they expect a pervert to be treated, the policemen took him to task. The crowd supported the man and questioned the policemen for supporting the offender. The local leaders then intervened and cooled the situation.
A case was registered in Kota police station, and Brahmavar circle inspector, Arun B Naik, visited Kota station. The accused was produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody.