An alleged incident of bullying involving four female students of a para-medical college in Karnataka's Udupi has turned ugly with a communal angle being foisted on it by the Right-wing ecosystem, including the BJP, which is seeking the arrest of the perpetrators.
The incident dates back to July 19 when three Muslim girls allegedly placed a mobile phone with a running camera in the washroom of the Netra Jyothi Institute of Allied Health Sciences. The camera ended up “inadvertently” filming a Hindu classmate in the washroom. The trio later claimed their target was another girl.
Although the college authorities and police on Tuesday ruled out any communal angle and said the offensive video was deleted by the three students, Right-wing social media handles came into play by accusing them of being part of a network that traps Hindu girls.
While the victim apparently didn’t want to pursue the matter, her friends from the same institution informed the college management.
The college immediately suspended the three accused girls. However, dissatisfied with the disciplinary action, a Right-wing students’ organisation called All College Students’ Power stepped into the scene and demanded their arrest.
College director Rashmi Krishna Prasad said the trio had told her that they were “pranking” someone else but the victim was inadvertently caught on the camera.
The police on Wednesday said two FIRs had been registered in the case — one against the three students and the other against a YouTube channel and a social media user for allegedly peddling fake news.
Home minister G. Parameshwara on Wednesday accused the BJP of blowing the issue out of proportion.
Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna of the BJP demanded a “joint investigation by a central agency and the state police”.
BJP lawmaker Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Tuesday took to Twitter and said: “Udupi issue is not simple or ‘By Mistake’…. Is it a pre-planned plot against the Hindu girls? SP Udupi should investigate this matter from all angles and perpetrators should be booked.”