Several woman were molested in Bengaluru on New Year's Eve by a group of men not yet identified.
Four men were questioned today by the Bengaluru police about their alleged involvement in molesting women at a New Year's Eve celebration, triggering public outrage.
Praveen Sood, the police chief of the city, said an inquiry had been set up into allegations women attending the Saturday night celebrations in the heart of Bengaluru were chased, groped, molested and robbed. Video posted on social media showed the women crying for help. No case was registered till late last night, three days after the crime unfolded in full public view.
"As promised we have found credible evidence... We have taken action by registering a FIR (first information report). Investigation is in progress," Mr Sood said in a series of tweets late Tuesday. Footage from nearly 40 security cameras in the area where the street party was held is being scrutinised.
The horror of the women's ordeal was followed by Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara blaming the attacks in the IT hub - considered relatively safe for women -- on "western dress".
In an interview, he said "these things happen," provoking a demand for an explanation from the country's top women's rights body, the National Commission for Women, whose chief, Lalitha Kumaramangalam, says the minister should resign.
Hundreds of revellers had gathered to celebrate the New Year when men, some of them drunk, groped, harassed and stalked women. The police was either unable to or unwilling to help, said some of the women who were attacked. They have also said that nobody came to their defence.
Another video from the same night in East Bengaluru shows a young woman walking home as two men approached her on a scooter. One lunges towards her and grabs her as she tries to fight him off. He forces her towards the two-wheeler and pins her down. Then, finally, he throws her to the ground. A group of people look on, but do nothing to help. The hair-raising video was filmed by security cameras at a nearby house, whose owners turned in the footage to the police. Mr Sood said that a police case has been filed without the woman filing a complaint and that efforts are being made to identify the men involved.