'Police under tremendous political pressure': Former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai on Udupi video incident

Days after three women students of a private paramedical college in Udupi were suspended for allegedly filming a fellow student using a mobile phone inside a washroom, former Karnataka CM and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that the police is not taking any action even after lodging an FIR, claiming that they are under tremendous political pressure. “…Police is not taking any action…They wanted to take action against the girl who raised an alarm, the whistleblower, rather than the culprits. After a hue and cry, they have lodged an FIR. State Govt is saying it is fake news. If it is so, why were three girls suspended and why is there an apology letter?…Police have failed…They are under tremendous political pressure. I urge them to work without any political pressure,” said the former Karnataka Chief Minister.

#WATCH | Udupi Video Incident | Former Karnataka CM and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai says, "...Police is not taking any action...They wanted to take action against the girl who raised an alarm, the whistleblower rather than the culprits. After a hue and cry, they have lodged an… pic.twitter.com/8433MLqn6B

— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2023

BJP leaders had on Tuesday held a press conference in Bengaluru demanding a detailed probe into the matter. Meanwhile, the BJP Mahila Morcha has called for a statewide protest on 27 July demanding stern action against the three students. BJP leader and Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna said that legal action needs to be taken against the offenders. “I was in the Assembly session when the incident occurred. Suitable legal action needs to be initiated against the erring girl students,” Suvarna told reporters on Tuesday. On July 19, three Muslim students were suspended by a private paramedical college for recording a video of their classmate when she was in the washroom. The incident came to light when the Hindu student told her friends, who informed the college management. The college management in turn informed the police about the incident and handed over the phone to the police. According to a Hindustan Times report, the incident took a communal turn with the right-wing groups claiming that the suspended students, who were Muslims, used hidden cameras to shoot private videos of Hindu girls, in order to circulate them among Muslim men as part of the “Jihadi conspiracy”. The Udupi police has, however, strongly denied these claims. With inputs from agencies