A row erupted in Karnataka’s Hubballi after a BJP woman activist alleged that she was stripped and brutally assaulted by police during her arrest by personnel from the Keshwapur police station.
According to the complaint, the incident was linked to an earlier rivalry between workers of the BJP and the Congress during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in the Keshwapur Rana area.
Congress corporator Suvarna Kalkuntla had earlier lodged a complaint accusing the activist, Sujatha, also known as Vijayalakshmi Handi, of bringing SIR–BLO officials to the area and allegedly facilitating the deletion of votes. Acting on this complaint, the police arrested Sujatha.
Police, however, claimed that Sujatha resisted arrest and misbehaved with the officers, following which a counter-complaint was registered. A case, including one under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, was subsequently booked against her.
BJP leaders condemned the police action, terming it “inhuman and politically motivated,” and demanded immediate action against the officers involved.
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