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The Kalasipalya police arrested three men after a 26-year-old migrant worker and his supervisor were allegedly assaulted for wearing a saffron towel. The alleged incident occurred near Royal Travels, opposite the BMTC bus stand in Kalasipalya, on the night of Sunday, August 24.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered on August 25, based on a complaint by Harikrishna (33), the incident took place around 9.30 pm on August 24. A Basavangudi and an employee of Royal Travels for the past 15 years, Harikrishna said that while he and his workers were unloading goods, two unidentified men approached his colleague Slinder Kumar and questioned him aggressively about wearing a saffron towel.
“They abused him and manhandled him. When I tried to stop them, they pushed me, assaulted me, tore my shirt and demanded to know why my workers were allowed to wear saffron towels,” Harikrishna said in his complaint. He added that one of the attackers identified himself as Bablu before leaving the spot.
Police said both Kumar and Harikrishna sustained minor injuries. Harikrishna, though assaulted, did not seek medical treatment as the injuries were not severe. Following his complaint, the Kalasipalya police initially registered a non-cognizable report but later filed an FIR after securing court permission.
A non-cognizable report (NCR) is a police record of a minor offence where they cannot investigate or arrest without a magistrate’s permission.
The accused have been identified as M Tabrez (30), a mechanic from Nagawara; W Imran Khan (35), a radium cutting worker from Banashankari; and Ajeez Khan (47), a real estate worker from Tilak Nagar. They have been booked for the charges of voluntarily causing hurt, hurting religious feelings, and provoking breach of peace.
Confirming the arrests, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said, “Nobody can take the law into their own hands.” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) S Girish stated that the accused were produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.