Parameshwara denies Tanzanian woman was stripped
Updated
Bengaluru, Feb 4 (PTI): Five persons have been arrested for the alleged assault and stripping of a Tanzanian woman here with the Karnataka government today saying it viewed the incident "seriously" but rejected suggestions that it was a racial attack.
As the incident on Sunday night took a serious diplomatic turn, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said five men had been arrested and that Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj spoke to him. A report would be sent to her, he said.
"Case has been registered, five of them (accused) have been arrested. Sushma Swaraj also spoke to me, I will also be sending her a report through my Chief Secretary," he told reporters at "Invest Karnataka 2016", a global investors meet, here.
The Chief Minister said he has asked the police to conduct an inquiry on why complaint was not taken immediately.
"I have asked them to take action against officials if there is any fault on their part," he said.
The 21-year-old Tanzanian woman student was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car here.
She was reportedly dragged out of the car in which she was seated along with her three friends when she reached the accident spot mistaking them to have caused the fatal accident though a Sudanese was involved in it, police said.
Swaraj had described it as a "shameful incident" and spoken to Siddaramaiah, seeking stringent punishment for the guilty, while the High Commission of Tanzania had sent a Note Verbale to the External Affairs Ministry on the issue.
Voicing concern over the incident, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today sought a report from the Karnataka government, according to party General Secretary Digvijay Singh, in charge of Congress affairs in the state.
"Rahul Gandhi asks Karnataka Govt to explain and send report immediately," Singh said in a series of tweets.
But asked if the Congress high command has sought a report, Siddaramaiah said, "Why will high command seek report on everything? It is you people who are saying..."
State Home Minister G Parameshwara told a press meet here that five persons had been arrested and more arrests would follow depending on the inquiry.
The minister, who named the victim, denied that the Tanzanian woman was paraded naked saying, "No such thing happened."
He also said, "This is definitely not a racial attack" and maintained that the incident was a response to an accident that had happened earlier, in which a Sudanese driving a car in an alleged drunken state had mowed down a woman and injured her husband seriously.
Noting that the government has taken the case "seriously", he said, "If there are any lapses on the part of police officials, we will take very serious action, including suspension."
Earlier Updated
Five arrested for assaulting Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru
Updated
Bengaluru, Feb 4 (IANS): Five people suspected of assaulting a Tanzanian woman were arrested early on Thursday, Police Commissioner N.S. Megharik said.
"We have arrested the five accused after interrogating them on Wednesday night under detention in the case registered on the victim's statement in a road rage incident," Megharik told IANS here.
The commissioner, however, did not disclose names and age of the five accused.
In a case of mistaken identity, a mob assaulted the victim, Lina Martin, 21, suspecting her to be a friend of a Sudanese student, Mohammad Ahad, whose car ran over a woman pedestrian (Shabana Taz) fatally while driving drunk on the same (Sunday) night.
"Arrest of the accused has been made on the basis of eye witnesses' account and from the video footage from closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) in the area. We will produce them in a local court for custody and further interrogation," Megharik said.
Denying reports in a section of media that the victim was stripped and paraded, Megharik said in her statement that she was only assaulted and molested in which her T-shirt was torn off.
"Though the car mishap was 30 minutes before the victim reached the spot in the other car, the mob thought she was Ahad's friend and assaulted her," deputy police commissioner T.R. Suresh told reporters on Wednesday night.
Ahad was also arrested on Sunday night for the fatal mishap involving his car and drunken driving.
Police did not register the case soon after the road mishap and the mob attack, as the victim was not in city for two days since Sunday to record her statement.
Earlier Update
Rahul Gandhi seeks report from K'taka govt
New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI): Voicing concern over a Tanzanian woman student being allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in Bengaluru, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has sought a report from the Karnataka government on the incident immediately.
"Rahul Gandhi asks Karnataka Govt to explain and send report immediately," party General Secretary Digvijay Singh said in a series of tweets.
"Strongly condemn incident with Tanzanian lady in Bangalore. Police must act strongly against the culprits," Singh, who is in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka, said.
The Tanzanian woman student was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car in the city.
The 21-year-old Tanzanian, who is doing her Bachelor of Business Management course, was dragged out of the car in which she was seated along with her three friends on Sunday night.
The car was stopped by the mob shortly after they reached the accident spot on Sunday night, according to All African Students Union in Bengaluru.
She was stripped by a section of the mob and pushed out of a slow-moving bus that was passing by as she tried to board it to escape, the Union's Legal Adviser Bosco Kaweesi had said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had termed the incident as shameful.
Swaraj had spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and requested him to ensure stringent punishment to the guilty.
Swaraj said Siddaramaiah informed her that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested.
Official sources in New Delhi had said the High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale to the External Affairs Ministry about the reported attack, requesting it to take necessary legal action against the guilty.
According to the Bangalore police, the complaint by the Tanzanian girl was filed yesterday even though incident happened on Sunday.
Earlier Report
Tanzanian student stripped, beaten, pushed out of bus in Bengaluru
Bengaluru/New Delhi Feb 3 (PTI): A Tanzanian woman student was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car here, prompting the authorities of the East African country to raise the matter with the Indian government.
Reacting to the incident, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, "We are deeply pained over the shameful incident" and that she has spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and requested him to ensure stringent punishment to the guilty.
The 21-year-old Tanzanian, who is doing her Bachelor of Business Management course, was dragged out of the car in which she was seated along with her three friends.
The car was stopped by the mob shortly after they reached the accident spot on Sunday night, according to All African Students Union in Bengaluru. She was stripped by a section of the mob and pushed out of a slow-moving bus that was passing by as she tried to board it to escape, the Union's Legal Adviser Bosco Kaweesi told reporters here. Three others were also beaten up.
The victim’s case has been incorporated with the case filed by Mohammed Ahad, a Sudan national and a student of Acharya College, who was beaten up after he rammed his car into a 35-year-old pedestrian Shabana Taz, killing her on the spot.
The Tanzanian, who was no way connected with the accident, was attacked by the mob suspecting that she was Ahad’s friend. The mob set Ahad's car ablaze as well as the one in which the Tanzanian student was travelling.
The victim told a news channel: "I came in a car, along with four of my friends, and noticed a torched car. Soon, a group of people chased one of my friends and thrashed him. They also started assaulting me. I ran across the road, but the mob chased me, manhandled me and also pulled off my T-shirt. I, along with my friends, boarded a bus and asked the driver to go, but he refused. The people inside the bus also thrashed us and threw us outside. The mob, which was waiting outside the bus, started thrashing us again. After a while the mob left us alone."
The woman further said: "Right now, we are scared of people around us. It is difficult for us (Africans) as petrol bunks refuse to give us the fuel and even the autorickshaw drivers refuse to ferry us. We are scared to even go out. We do not know what to do."
Official sources in New Delhi said the High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale to the External Affairs Ministry about the reported attack, requesting it to take necessary legal action against the guilty.
"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru," Swaraj tweeted.
"I have asked the Chief Minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty," she said in another tweet.
Swaraj said Siddaramaiah informed her that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested.
The sources said the Joint Secretary in MEA's East and Southern Africa Division has spoken to the High Commissioner of Tanzania and expressed regret over the the unfortunate incident.
The Tanzanian Embassy requested the government to ensure safety and security of all African students in India.
The Joint Secretary told the Tanzanian High Commissioner that the Ministry is in regular touch with the authorities in Bangalore and that the state authorities have said they are seized of the matter and have taken action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
According to the Bangalore police, the complaint by the Tanzanian girl was filed only today even though incident happened on Sunday.
Kaweesi said she had no connection with the accident and alleged the police "was not so helpful" when they were approached.
Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said that after the accident, which claimed the life of a 35-year old woman, the driver of the car was assaulted and he was taken to hospital.
The Tanzanian woman and her friends had reached the spot later, the police chief said, adding, the mob mistook them for having been responsible for the mishap.
"It was mistaken identity," he said. The driver of the car which mowed down the woman has been seized by the police.
Megharikh said the woman's statement had been recorded by the Deputy Commissioner of Police. "We have taken up the case of assault on the woman," he said.
A section relating to molestation had also been invoked, he added. He said a crowd of 200 to 300 people was present after the accident but the police had brought the situation under control after the accident.
Megharikh said the police were trying to identify the people involved in the assault and assured they would be arrested.
Official sources in New Delhi said Joint Secretary (States Division) in the MEA, who happened to be in Bengaluru, was in touch with the top officials in the state administration over the issue.
Four detained
A police officer investigating the case said the CCTV footage from nearby establishments is being obtained to trace the people involved in both the incidents. A probe team has already identified a few people who torched the first car belonging to the Sudanese student. The four have been detained and the others will be arrested at the earliest, he added.
With Inputs from DHNS