A political scandal broke out in the city of Hubballi after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that its woman worker was beaten up by the police and had her clothes torn off during an arrest. The incident snowballed with the appearance of a video in which the worker was shown resisting her arrest in the presence of male and female cops in a bus.
The BJP claims that the officers overstepped their bounds, using excessive force and humiliating the woman after she raised objections to the arrest. However, Hubballi Police Commissioner Shashi Kumar has flatly denied these accusations, offering a completely different version of the events that unfolded on January 5.
According to the Commissioner, the trouble began in Chalukya Nagar during a local survey being conducted by government authorities. An argument broke out between locals, which escalated into abuse and physical assault. Based on these events, three cases were filed, including an attempted murder charge against the woman in question.
"When our team went to take her into custody, she and her associates put up a massive struggle," the Commissioner told reporters on Wednesday. He alleged that during the scuffle, the woman bit a sub-inspector and assaulted several other staff members. Addressing the viral video and the specific allegations about her clothing, Kumar claimed that the woman actually took her own clothes off in an attempt to thwart the arrest.
"It was our female staff who had to get clothes from local residents and help her dress so she could be transported," he added. The police also pointed out that the worker is a habitual offender with nine cases already registered against her, five of which were filed just last year. While the BJP continues to push for an inquiry into what they call police high-handedness, the department maintains that the "misbehaviour" narrative is a total fabrication.
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