The assault on the daughter of an MLA and her friend at Mangalore has taken a new turn with the Democratic Youth Federation of India claiming responsibility behind the incident.
The DYFI is the students wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist. The daughter of CPM MLA, Kunhambu and her friend were assaulted and abducted by a group of men on Friday, while they were travelling in a bus at Mangalore.
The DYFI while claiming responsibility for the attack also said that they were only trying to protect the modesty of the girl.
The Mangalore police who have arrested five persons, four from Kasargod and one from Mangalore however refused to confirm the identity of the accused.
When the incident occured on Friday, the MLA blamed the Shriram Sena. However the founder of the Sena Pramod Muthalik denied any role in the incident.
The accused who are in custody claimed that they were from the DYFI and also maintain that they did nothing wrong. We were only trying to ensure the safety of the girl, they also added during their interrogation.
The lawyer defending the accused, P P Hegde told rediff.com that his clients wanted to ensure the safety of the girl and also added that they angered to see their MLAs daughter going out with a boy.
The victim however maintained that the boy was known to her and added that he did not try and misbehave with her. I just asked him where he was going she said. We were not sitting in the same seat either, she said. Detailing the one hour in captivity she said that they were warned and also added that the men threatened the boy several times.
Chief Minister of Karnataka, B S Yeddyurappa has termed this incident as a conspiracy hatched by the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular to tarnish the image of his government. I have also asked the police to take strict action, he also added. He has also chaired an all party meet to discuss the growing incidents of violence.
Mangalore Superintendent of Police, Satish Kumar told media-persons that action is being taken and also added that five members are in custody. Kumar also said that the driver and conductor of the bus too were in custody.
