A woman can be seen entering a building. She is surrounded by police. As she begins to climb the steps of the building, BJP MLA from Terdal, Siddu Savadi, can be seen charging at her and stopping her from entering the building. Soon, Siddu Savadi and his supporters begin pushing the woman and assaulting her. The police, meanwhile, stand in the periphery of the men who have surrounded the woman, in a weak attempt to curtail the assault. Legislator Siddu Savadi pushes the woman and she falls on the staircase. The police finally pick her up. But one of the supporters of the MLA can be seen grabbing her by the hair before the police could stop further assault.
This brutal attack took place in Karnataka’s Bagalkot district on November 9, where legislator Siddu Savadi and his followers assaulted Chandni Naik, a councillor with the Mahalingapuram Municipal Council. Although the incident happened on November 9, it came to light on Wednesday after the video went viral. On November 9, elections were held for the position of President and Vice President of the Mahalingapura Municipal Council. Councillors Chandni Naik, Saraswati Hurkadali and Godavari Baat had approached MLA Savadi, requesting a chance to contest for the post. As they were turned down, the three women had decided to vote for the Congress candidate, Chandni Naik told the media on Wednesday.
BJP MLA Siddu Savadi and his supporters caught in video pushing a woman and assaulting her. The Incident was reported on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/Gc8YBXvbfn
— Soumya Chatterjee (@Csoumya21) November 12, 2020
The 23-member council has 13 BJP members and 11 Congress members. Councillor Chandni alleged that when legislator Savadi learned that the women were going to vote for the Congress candidates, he assaulted and pushed them near the Municipal Council building in a bid to stop them from exercising their vote.
“I always looked up to MLA Savadi as an elderly figure and a mentor. I never even dreamed that he would behave this way. I was very shocked when none of our (the women councillors’) words were respected. I have suffered both physically and mentally,” Chandni Naik told the media.
Meanwhile, MLA Siddu Savadi issued a statement to the press and outright denied his involvement in the case despite the video showing otherwise. “I respect all women and I would never behave in such a way with any woman. This is being done to tarnish my reputation. The entire thing is fabricated. Why should I apologise when I have not done anything wrong?” Siddu Savadi claimed.
When TNM called the Mahalingapura police station, the officers said that no FIR was registered against the legislators or the other men who attacked Chandni Naik.
“I filed a complaint and the police have not registered a case. They are not even willing to investigate it,” Chandni meanwhile said. The police claimed that they are verifying the veracity of the video before taking any further action.
Watch the video here