BJP woman worker stripped, assaulted during SIR protest in Karnataka; police deny allegation

(Screengrab)

• BJP woman worker claims police assaulted her, tore clothes during SIR protest
• Police commissioner denies allegations, claims activist removed saree herself
• BJP leaders condemn police action, demand action

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A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) woman worker was allegedly assaulted and her clothes were torn by the police when she was being detained during SIR protest in Karnataka's Hubballi.

The woman activist, identified as Sujata Handi, also known as Vijayalakshmi, alleged that she was assaulted by police personnel while being taken into custody during a protest. A video of the incident has surfaced. It shows the woman worker being surrounded by the police on a bus.

It is alleged that during the detention, the woman resisted and raised objections, following which she was allegedly assaulted and her clothes torn by the police, NDTV reported.

According to preliminary information, the woman was detained based on a complaint by Congress corporator Suvarna Kalkuntla, who accused the activist, Sujatha, also known as Vijayalakshmi Handi, of bringing SIR–BLO officials to the area, India Today reported.

The complaint is linked to an earlier dispute between Congress and the BJP workers during the voter list revision exercise in Keshwapur Rana. The dispute originated from accusations that she assisted officials in deleting certain voter names, a charge she denies, which led to clashes between Congress and BJP workers.

As the video surfaced, BJP leaders condemned the police action, terming it “inhuman and politically motivated,” and demanded immediate action against the officers involved.

'Removed saree herself'

The Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner has rejected the allegations. He claimed that the woman removed her saree herself during the arrest process. The commissioner said that such actions are sometimes adopted by individuals to resist arrest.

“Some people remove their clothes to avoid being taken into custody. In this case, the woman activist removed her saree herself while resisting arrest," he said, denying any wrongdoing by police personnel involved in the operation, News18 reported.