Two people were taken into custody on Friday for reportedly harassing an interfaith couple in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka. The incident happened on May 23 while the couple was at a restaurant in the Chikkaballapura district, based on the report of the police. According to testimony from witnesses, three men approached a couple as they were having food and began asking the woman about her faith and religious background. They screamed abuse and made rude statements about the woman for dating a Hindu man. An official with knowledge of the situation indicated that the accused threatened to upload a video of the entire encounter online. The suspect also forced the 22-year-old woman to apologise on a video while they were recording them with a mobile-phone camera and swear aloud that she wouldnt make the same “mistake” again, while the man (with the woman) was forced to declare that every person in the room was his brother and sister.An incident days after CMs order for no more moral policing in the stateThis comes after Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka, and D. K. Shivakumar, his deputy, took a harsh stance against the state polices top leadership during a meeting with senior police officials a few days before in Bengaluru. “There wont be any more moral policing in this state,” after the meeting, Siddaramaiah declared. “Well put an end to this. Police should not see crimes through the lens of one faith (religion) over another,” he added. The chief minister also said that “all persons must be treated equally and given equal safety and security.”Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka, and D. K. Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister meeting the high-ranking police officers of the state (Image: Twitter)“We need a government that is honest and loyal to the people, weve informed the cops. The police need to be approachable, and they also need to treat visitors to the police station with respect,” CM said media after the meeting. According to reports, the CM reportedly urged authorities to take action against social media posts and comments that aim to ruin harmonious relations between communities and have an aggressive tone. He issued a warning: “We will reward hard workers and take decisive action against duty disregarded.” When a BJP minister called for Siddaramaiah to be “finished off” like Tipu Sultan, the deputy chief minister, D K Shivakumar, accused the polices high-rank officers of allowing saffronisation of the department and reminded them of strict actions and consequences of doing the same.Interfaith couple attacked in IndoreMeanwhile, a young couple of different religions were attacked and harassed by a crowd as they left a hotel in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and two people who rushed to the couples aid were stabbed by the mob. Later, a social media video of the incident went viral. Two people related to the incident have been arrested by the police.According to Kamlesh Sharma, the in charge of the Tukoganj police station, a complaint has been filed under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. As of now, seven suspects have been identified. Sharma added that the efforts to identify and capture the remaining 20 or so members of the attackers were underway. Two of the accused, who are in the 23–26 age bracket, had already been arrested.
