The Banashankari Police have arrested two minor boys on Thursday in an assault case filed by a 22-year-old woman on October 20. The woman was harassed while she while she was on her way to a gym in Jayanagar.
The two boys hurled parts of used coconuts from the first floor of a building at Maya (name changed). The boys ran away hearing her shout, but later came following her on a bike, slapped her and sped.
Banashankari police inspector Jagadish said, “First we zeroed in on a suspect in the case, who was a resident of the same building. He revealed the identity of his accomplice, who lived in a building adjacent to it. Both the boys were 16 years old and were studying in a pre-university college in Bengaluru.”
Police said that the duo is being dealt by the juvenile justice board on the charges of outraging the modesty of a woman and that action will be taken by the board.
The police refused to part with further information on the case as it would be a violation of Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children Act), which prevents the police from parting with any information on a minor.
What happened that day
She was walking near the Yediyur Lake near Jayanagar when a bunch of people threw parts of used coconuts at her. When she yelled at them for doing so, two of the men followed her. One of them grabbed her by the hand, turned her around and slapped her across the face.
However, when she came back with her gym trainer to the spot later, they found a few bottles of alcohol strewn around. They were told that no one was living in the place and that maybe someone was using it as a hangout.
Maya initially tweeted about the incident. She later filed a complaint at Jayanagar police station a week after the incident when she returned from Mangalore, her native place.
“Many times I have read stories in the paper and wondered why people didn’t react or why they didn’t carry a pepper spray. But trust me, I now realised what people go through. I could not think of anything. I was just shamed and hurt and I went home,” said Maya.