A gang of ten men allegedly attacked a 45-year-old fish trader on Sunday for talking to a woman from a different community, near Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada.
The victim, Suresh, a resident of Farangipete, was taken a nearby government hospital and was treated there.
A police official in Bantwal speaking to Times of India said, “At 3 pm, the gang of 8-10 men saw Suresh talking to a burqa-clad woman near Farangipete bus stand and objected to it. The fish trader was on his way to Mangaluru from Bantwal. Since the man knew the woman, he stopped his car to exchange pleasantries with her. While returning to the car, the gang pounced on the trader, hurled abuses and attacked him.”
The gang reportedly questioned why he was speaking to a woman from a different community.
The Bantwal Rural police have recorded the man's complaint and registered a case under Sections 144 (unlawful assembly), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 read with 149 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.
The woman meanwhile was sent home along with her relatives. Police officials confirmed that they are investigating the case.
In December 2017, under pressure from a right-wing group, a 20-year-old Hindu woman broke off her relationship with a Muslim man in Mangaluru. Members of Durga Vahini, the women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, 'counselled' the woman, alleging that her boyfriend was a drug peddler
In another incident, Priyanka, a resident of Daregudde in the district, went missing two days before her wedding and an investigation was launched to find out the reason. Pro-Hindu groups claimed that it was a case of 'love jihad'.
The instances of moral policing appearing in the news died down around the time of elections in the state, but appears to have reared its head once again.