A BJP worker from Hubbali, Sujata Handi, has alleged that she was not only physically assaulted but also disrobed by police after her arrest – accusations that police have denied. The arrest followed a complaint filed by Congress corporator Suvarna Kallakuntla.
Handi said that the incident happened while she was accompanying officials conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in the Keshwapur area on Tuesday.
“We had been with officials who were conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in the Keshwapur area on Tuesday, and Corporator Kallakuntla’s supporters had objected to it,” she said.
Police reject BJP worker’s claims
However, the police maintained that the woman, who has several cases against her, removed her clothes herself during the arrest.
“When two cops tried to arrest her, she grabbed our mobile phones and resisted. As we called some women police constables, she called other female workers of her party. She only stripped off her clothes and insisted on other women making videos on their phones,” police said.
According to police, a separate complaint was filed on Sunday night by a citizen, Prashant Bommajji, who alleged that he was assaulted by the BJP worker and others for questioning why BJP workers were accompanying the Booth Level Officer (BLO) during the SIR process.
Home Minister backs police version
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said he accepted the police commissioner’s account of the incident, stating that the government would rely on the official version presented.
“Commissioner of Hubbali has already made a statement. He has expressed what exactly has happened. He said that while arresting that woman, she removed her clothes. So once the commissioner himself has made a statement, and I, as a Home Minister, have to accept it…,” Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara told reporters.
What has happened?
The incident reportedly took place within the limits of Keshwapur Police Station, where police went to arrest Handi following complaints from local residents in connection with a clash that took place during mapping for SIR on January 1.
Corporator Suvarna Kallakuntla said the controversy stemmed from the actions of the BLO Nandini Kulkarni, who allegedly conducted the SIR while accompanied by BJP workers.
“As a BLO, she should go independently or call booth agents of all political parties. Since she was accompanying BJP workers, some citizens had objected to it. When we got the information, we rushed there and found that the BLO was accompanying BJP workers. We had complained about the BLO to the HDMC Commissioner on Saturday itself. Later, Handi assaulted citizens who had alerted us about the BLO’s wrongdoing,” she said.
Police claimed that Handi took off her own clothes after getting into the police van and that the locals helped woman constables in arranging clothes to cover her body. DCP (Law and Order) Mahaning Nandagavi said that she became violent while being arrested in connection with a case registered under Section 307 of the IPC.
“She kicked and even bit cops. She created a high drama by stripping off herself. Our woman PCs covered her with clothes. She even kicked at private parts of our personnel. She also intended to hang her sister. We have videos of all of her acts. A medico legal case is registered against her for kicking at private part of one Prashant Bommajji. She has also had nine previous cases of honeytrap, obstruction, blackmailing etc.,” he added.
‘Vendetta-driven Jungle Raj’: BJP state prez
BJP state president, Vijayendra Yediyurappa, described the incident as “disturbing and utterly shameful”, adding that the state is slipping into “vendetta-driven ‘Jungle Raj’”.
“The disgraceful incident that has transpired in Hubballi, where a woman BJP karyakarta [party worker] was subjected to assault and humiliation, is deeply disturbing and utterly shameful. This is a grave assault on the dignity and modesty of a woman, striking at the very conscience of our civilised society,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He lashed out at Congress for “misusing state machinery”. Yediyurappa added, “Time and again, the Congress government has brazenly misused the state machinery to target BJP karyakartas, but this episode marks a dangerous and unforgivable low. No provocation, no political disagreement, and no circumstance can ever justify such inhuman conduct. It exposes a complete collapse of the rule of law under the present regime.”
“Karnataka today is sliding into a vendetta-driven ‘Jungle Raj’, where power is exercised without restraint and accountability is discarded. I strongly condemn this disgraceful act and demand immediate action against the police personnel involved, ensuring that the dignity of women is unequivocally protected and that such shameful incidents never recur,” he went on to say.
Shehzad Poonawalla condemns the incident
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also criticised the Congress party over the incident involving the BJP worker.
He said in an interview with ANI, “This is the reality of the Congress party’s hollow slogan, ‘I am a girl, I can fight’ Just imagine if the police behave like this with a woman, regardless of whether she is an activist or not, and Priyanka Vadra remains silent. Such incidents reveal the failure of law and order in Karnataka and the failure of the Congress party.”
He further accused the Congress party of failing to ensure the safety of women in the state.