Police deny misconduct in BJP worker’s arrest

THe tell constabulary feature denied allegations of constabulary misconduct after a purported curtail of a woman’s arrest in Hubbali on January 5 shared widely on social media depicted the woman in a partially unclothed state inside a police vehicle.The woman is reportedly associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party.According to the Hubballi Dharwad police commissioner, N Shashikumar, the arrest followed multiple complaints connected to clashes during voter family mapping in Chalukya Nagar, where government officials and police personnel were allegedly attacked. Three cases were registered in connection with those incidents, and the woman was named as a key accused in one of them.Shashikumar claimed that the police had anticipated resistance and deployed eight to ten women officers during the arrest. “Despite that, when she was taken inside the police vehicle, she undressed herself. Our women officers and staff who were present at the spot took the assistance of local people and got a separate dress for her,” he said.He added that officers repeatedly asked her to cover herself. “So the accusation against the police is absolutely false and made with bad intentions. I have verified the sequence of events,” he said, while noting that a deputy commissioner of police had been directed to conduct a detailed inquiry covering events from January 1 to January 5.Police officers familiar with the matter said the woman allegedly assaulted four women constables during the incident and bit two of them on the abdomen, causing serious injuries. “Two were very badly injured because she bit them in their abdomen, and two others also sustained injuries,” Shashikumar said, adding that three to four male personnel were also hurt but did not file complaints. He said the woman allegedly had about nine cases pending against her and was remanded to judicial custody.Chief minister Siddaramaiah backed the police’s version while speaking to reporters in Haveri. “When police officers went to arrest her, she bit many officers. It’s very bad. There was an FIR against her. When police personnel went to arrest her, she beat them and bit them,” he said.Meanwhile, the BJP accused the Congress government of allegedly targeting opposition workers.BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginakai said the woman was assisting a booth level officer during voter mapping when Congress leaders objected and filed a complaint.“The police behaved inhumanely while detaining her,” he said, demanding the suspension of those involved.Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka assembly, R Ashoka, described the episode as politically motivated. “The inhuman incident where Hubballi Keshwapur police stripped and beat a BJP woman worker in response to a complaint filed by a Congress municipal member is another example of hate politics by the Congress government,” he alleged in a post on X on Wednesday. He claimed that attacks on opposition workers and leaders were becoming routine and accused the government of imposing an “undeclared emergency” in the state.The Karnataka State Commission for Women adopted a more cautious tone. Its chairperson, Nagalakshmi Choudhary, said the police had arranged clothing for the woman and confirmed that multiple cases were pending against her.“There is a complaint against the woman, and the police went to arrest her. When she was taken into the police vehicle, she stripped herself,” she said, adding that the woman’s brother allegedly recorded the video and that only women police officers were present at the time it was recorded.Choudhary said she had spoken to the Hubballi deputy commissioner of police and would seek a detailed report.