'Such Incidents Happen': Karnataka Home Minister Faces Flak Over Bengaluru Sexual Assault Comments

Reacting to the rise in incidents of sexual assaults and harassment in Bengaluru during night hours, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Monday that "such incident happens here and there in a big city".
He was responding to a media query about the sexual harassment case that came to light on Sunday. Parameshwara said, “I have advised the Bengaluru Police Commissioner to remain vigilant every day. Police patrolling must be carried out effectively and in a disciplined manner in all localities of Bengaluru city.”

He added, “Public attention naturally gets drawn when such incidents are reported. We will not ignore them -- the police department is working continuously.”

The Minister further said, “Police personnel are working day and night, braving extreme weather conditions. That’s why Bengaluru continues to remain peaceful.”

“Such incident happens here and there in such a big city, but we will take appropriate legal action in each case,” he stated.

“I have specifically instructed that the beat system be managed efficiently. I spoke to the Police Commissioner about this again this morning,” he reiterated.

A video showing two young women being targeted by a man in the early hours in a residential locality went viral on social media, raising serious concerns over women’s safety in Bengaluru.


The 17-second video shows two women walking down a deserted street flanked by houses on both sides. A tall, well-built man approaches from behind, pushes one of the women aside, sexually harasses the other, and then escapes. The video also captures the visibly shaken women standing briefly to catch their breath before quickly leaving the scene.

The incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on April 4 in the jurisdiction of the Sadduguntepalya police station. The video went viral on Sunday. Police have registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by a local resident and have launched a search for the accused while collecting additional evidence.

Residents of the area have expressed shock over the incident, stating that such occurrences were unprecedented in their locality. They added that with the rise in PG accommodations in the area, the police must intensify night patrolling to ensure safety.


In another shocking incident, a young woman was waylaid and sexually harassed under the Banasawadi police station limits in Bengaluru. The incident occurred on Hennur Main Road, near the Indian Petrol Bunk in the Banasawadi locality, and came to light last Saturday (April 5).

According to the police, the incident took place when the victim was riding her scooter from her friend’s house to her residence at around 4.30 a.m. Taking advantage of the deserted surroundings, two miscreants chased her and waylaid her.

They behaved inappropriately and sexually harassed her by touching her private parts. When the woman raised an alarm, passers-by stopped and came to her rescue. However, when the public attempted to catch the accused, they threatened them with a knife and managed to flee the scene.


Earlier, a young woman migrant worker from Bihar was kidnapped and raped when she was searching for food with her brother in the early hours of Thursday (April 3) near a railway station in Bengaluru. The incident was reported from the Mahadevapura police station limits.

On November 11, 2024, a young woman walking in the dark was inappropriately touched by a man on a bike in Bengaluru’s Ramamurthy Nagar. The act, caught on CCTV, had gone viral. The biker, identified as Arun, behaved obscenely and was arrested two hours after the woman filed a complaint at the Ramamurthy Nagar police station.--IANS