Karnataka govt hands over Udupi washroom video case to CID
The Karnataka police have lodged an FIR against 3 girls students who filmed the video.
Udupi video case: The Karnataka government has handed over the washroom video case of Netrajyothi Paramedical College, Udupi to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Three girl students studying an optometry course in a college have allegedly videographed a fellow student in the restroom.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that there is an allegation that a video was filmed in the toilet of a private college in Udupi, and as this is a sensitive case, the case has been handed over to the CID for further investigation. "Udupi secret video recording case has become a sensitive issue and hence we have handed over the case to CID for investigation," said Siddaramaiah.
3 girl students booked
An FIR has been registered against three girl students of the college, identified as Shabhnaz, Alfiya and Aleema, over the incident. They have been suspended from the college - Netra Jyothi Institute of Allied Health Sciences - for allegedly filming a fellow student using a mobile phone inside a washroom.
The girls were suspended on two counts- first, they brought the mobile phone which is banned in the college, and then taking video, she said. According to the director, the three girls told the victim that their target was some other girls and she was mistakenly videographed. They reportedly deleted the video in front of her, the director said. However, the victim told her other friends about the incident and they reported the matter to the management, the director said.
What was the video?
A morphed video of the incident was allegedly uploaded on a Kannada YouTube channel. An individual had allegedly posted the same on his Twitter account as well. A case for causing communal enmity and spoiling social harmony has also been registered in this regard, the statement said. The three girl students were suspended from the college on the accusation of filming the video in the restroom of the college recently.
Political battle on the video
The issue has created a flutter in political circles, with the BJP announcing a state-wide protest on Thursday demanding the arrest of the three students involved in the filming of a girl, pointing out that the victim and the accused girls are from two different religious communities.
A day earlier, police had urged the public not to believe rumours that girls of a particular community had targeted a girl from another community and shared a video of her online that they allegedly shot in the restroom.
Former NCW member Shyamala Sunder addressing reporters on Wednesday in Udupi said the filming of a girl student in the washroom by three other girls is a serious issue. She said the video was allegedly circulated on social media after which the college administration confiscated the mobile phones of the students.
A right-wing activist, Rashmi Samant, who raised the issue on Twitter, was questioned by the police allegedly to ascertain the authenticity of the tweet. Referring to this, Sunder said that if a fake tweet was posted from her account, she herself would have filed a complaint.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai slammed the Home Minister for "taking it lightly". “If that was a small case, then why an FIR was registered and what about the 'confessional letter' by the accused girls? Why were those girls suspended? He (Parameshwara) should answer these questions,” Bommai told reporters here. The BJP leader alleged that the college administration tried to hush up the case. If the student had not tweeted, no one would have known about it.