Mangaluru Police have arrested six Hindutva activists after they allegedly abducted a minor girl and two others in a suspected case of what has notoriously been called “moral policing”. According to the Urwa Police, a group of Hindutva activists had forcibly made the girl alight from the bus, and asked her to call her cousin Mallesh and his friend Sadiq to come and pick her up from the KPT area of the city. They were then allegedly taken to an isolated spot and assaulted by the group. Police said that Dharwad resident Mallesh and Sadiq of Gangavati in Koppal district were good friends. Through Mallesh, his 17-year-old cousin became acquainted with Sadiq. The police claim that the girl was in love with Sadiq. According to sources, Mallesh had arranged for her to travel from Dharwad to Suratkal in a private bus on Tuesday while he himself travelled by another bus. Sources said that the main accused Purushottam, a bus driver, had overheard the girl speaking to Sadiq and informing him of her whereabouts. Sadiq asked her to alight at Udupi, 60km from Mangaluru. Purushottam then reportedly called one Sharath and told him that the girl was going to meet a Muslim boy. The girl was not allowed to alight at Udupi, but forcibly taken to the KPT area of Mangaluru by Puroshuttam where Sharath and others were waiting. They were then taken to an unknown location by the six men where Mallesh and Sadiq were physically assaulted, the official said. Mallesh later called the police and filed a complaint against the six men with the Urwa police who have registered a case of kidnapping under Section 363, wrongful detention and death threats against the accused. Purushottam has been remanded to judicial custody while the others have been let out on bail. In a twist to the case, the parents of the girl have filed a case of kidnapping against Mallesh and Sadiq at the Dharwad Rural police station. Dharwad Superintendent of Police Vamshi Krishna said that the parents have alleged that the girl is a minor and that she was kidnapped by Mallesh and Sadik to marry her off. Investigation is underway, he added.