A shocking incident has happened in the Bengaluru metro, where a 25-year-old woman has alleged that she was inappropriately touched and subjected to obscene behaviour by a fellow passenger while travelling in Central Bengaluru. The incident took place on Tuesday, December 23, inside a metro train near the busy Majestic interchange, considered one of the city’s busiest transit hubs.
According to NDTV, the police have identified the accused as a 55-year-old man named Mutappa and subsequently registered a Non-Cognisable Report (NCR) in the case. The NCR will allow police to record information about the alleged offence, and does not require immediate arrest without court permission.
Based on the preliminary report filed by the police, the man was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the journey and repeatedly fell against the woman during the journey.
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‘I Was Frozen…’ Bengaluru Passenger Recounts Horrific Incident On Metro
In her statement, the woman said the metro ride lasted around 15 minutes. She recalled that she was initially seated between a man and a woman. After the man got down at his station, his seat was occupied by the accused.
According to her account, the accused sat unusually close, leaving her squeezed between two passengers. Assuming it was accidental due to a lack of space, she tried to shift slightly to make room. However, she soon felt a hand against her body, which she described as deeply disturbing.
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“At first, I thought it could be by mistake,” she said. She added that she tried to move again, even if it meant making the woman on her other side uncomfortable. Despite her efforts, she said the obscene behaviour continued, with the man pressing his legs against hers.
“That moment, I realised this is not a mistake. This is intentional,” she said. “I was frozen. When I realised that someone was intentionally doing this to me. And I was really angry.” When her destination arrived, the woman got up, slapped the man and exited the metro.
However, the man followed the woman into the station as well. The woman slapped him again on the platform, describing him as crying, begging, and yet smiling intermittently, while speaking in Kannada, which she said she did not understand.
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Metro security staff later stepped in and escorted both individuals away. The woman said she then insisted on lodging a police complaint, following which the man was taken to the police station. There, she learned details that left her even more shaken. She was told that the man had been travelling on the metro for nearly an hour without getting off at any station, indicating he may have been lingering on the trains. She was also informed that he was intoxicated.
The woman also expressed her frustration with the police, who simply advised her to walk away from such a situation in the future.