Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Thursday said that the government will consider filing an appeal against the acquittal of Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik and others in the 2009 Mangaluru pub attack case after consulting the state’s advocate-general.
The second JMFC court on March 12 acquitted all 31 accused citing lack of evidence in the nine-year-old case.
On January 24, 2009, a 30-member team allegedly belonging to Sri Rama Sene launched an attack on customers – mostly women – at the pub in broad daylight, injuring at least two women.
Members of the group dragged women out of the pub and beat them up even as they screamed for help, TV reports of the incident that had made national headlines showed. The group organised the attack to achieve moral policing ends, as they claimed that the women 'violated traditional Indian norms’ by visiting a pub. A video clip of the attack had gone viral on YouTube.
Demanding a re-investigation of the case by roping in the media as a witness, members of the Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane submitted a memorandum to Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Thursday.
“First of all, the police did not create a conducive atmosphere for the victims to give witness accounts and for the prosecutor to prove the case beyond doubt. It is but natural for the young girls, who were victimised and brutally assaulted to not give evidence,” said Vimala K.S, vice-president of the sanghatane, speaking to The Hindu.
Other activists were also unhappy with the verdict.
“The message is loud and clear, that the consequences of their actions will not catch up with them. And that's why they are so bold to carry out such attacks. Even in a rare case like this, where a case actually gets filed because there is damning video evidence that was broadcasted, the way the investigation happens is not usually victim friendly,” social activist Vidya Dinker told TNM earlier.