Bengaluru Police make more arrests; two cops suspended

Bengaluru, February 5

Four more people have been arrested and two policemen suspended two days after a Tanzanian woman claimed she was severely beaten and stripped naked by a mob in Bengaluru recently.

“Four people were arrested late last night,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner NS Megharikh said on Friday.

One of the four is a member of a panchayat, although little else is known about it. All four have been booked for assault, unlawful assembly, arson, rioting and outraging a woman's modesty.

The latest arrests bring the total of those rounded up in the case to nine.

Two policemen — inspector Pravin Babu and constable Manjunath — were suspended after the incident triggered a public outcry. Babu has been punished for dereliction of duty and Manujanth for not having acted even though he was present when the incident took place.

Tanzanian High Commissioner John WH Kijazi and External Affairs Ministry officials will meet the four students who were assaulted and also get assessment of the incident from the state government.

Kijazi said after meeting state Home Minister G Parameshwara and Home Department officials: "We are very much impressed with the action already taken. We must focus on the future. We believe that the local communities and the African community can live in harmony".

NHRC seeks explanation

The National Human Rights Commission has demanded a report of the incident from chief secretary and the DGP of Karnataka Government within two weeks’ time.

"If the contents of the (media) report are true, it would amount to a serious violation of human rights including racism," the Commission said in its notices to the authorities.

The Tanzanian woman claimed she beaten and forcibly stripped naked by a mob in Bengaluru after they mistook her for having run over the woman on Saturday night. 

The 21-year-old woman — a student studying BBM in the city — claimed she and three other friends had been dragged out of her car and assaulted by a group that assumed she was with the Sundanese man.

The incident has raised questions about the treatment given to African students in India.