BENGALURU: After a tweet by human rights activist Rashmi Samant regarding the Udupi incident, where a mobile phone was placed secretly in the women’s washroom of a private paramedical college to film Hindu girls, exploded online, several BJP leaders have demanded that the government take action against the three girls who were allegedly involved. The BJP leaders have also expressed their outrage over the incident.
Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna paid a visit to Rashmi Samant’s house in Udupi and met her family. Yashpal had posted on Twitter, “This is Udupi – hometown of Lord Sri Krishna, a stronghold of Hinduism. There is no question of giving up on anyone. Those who committed the act should not be spared at any cost”.
“The government is washing its hands off the incident though the Muslim students who were involved in the attempt to ruin the lives of the Hindu students by filming them in the toilet of a private education institution in Udupi and giving them to the hands of anti-social forces”, Yashpal added.
“This will not be allowed for any reason. There will be no peace until the victims get justice and the culprit are brought to book. Also, I have asked for a report from the authorities concerned about the alleged harassment by the police department to @RAshmiDVS ‘Rashmi Samant’ who raised her voice against the case first. I have warned the department not to disturb her or her family for any reason, if they do so, he will not be keep silent anymore”, he said.
Yashpal also shared on Twitter that he visited Rashmi’s house and met her mother as Rashmi is out of state now, and assured to stand by the family.
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai, reacting to the incident said, there is no protection for women under the Congress government.
Addressing a press meet on Tuesday, BJP leader Tejaswini Gowda said. “Some unpleasant incidents are happening in the state, which are making us hang our heads down in shame before civil society. Terrorist organisations are indoctrinating young minds. These acts are not only perverse, but also destructive. The victim is a Hindu, the accused sent the video to different community groups. Police visited Rashmi Samant’s house at night and took away her father. But no action has been taken against the three who made the video”.
Tejaswini Gowda further said Rashmi is a human rights activist as well as a former student of Oxford University. “An attempt has been made to suppress Rashmi Samant’s voice by labelling it as fake news. Rashmi’s family was threatened and the Congress government has hire Mohammad Zubair and Prateek Sinha of Alt News to fact-check fake news”, she noted.
“There are serious allegations against Alt News and its co-founders about spreading fake news. A comprehensive investigation should be done over the Udupi incident and strict action should be taken against the three accused. The government is showing a soft corner for the accused, which is not right. There may be a big network behind this case. The BJP will stage a protest if the police do not take appropriate action”, Tejaswini added
State BJP secretary Bharathi Magdum said, “Several attempts are being made to hush up the Udupi case. This case should be taken up for judicial investigation”.
MLC N Ravikumar, reacting to the filming of Hindu girls in the college washroom, asked, “What would the government have done if the victims and accused in the incident had been reversed? That should be understood first. The government should understand what the situation would have been if a Hindu student had made a video of a Muslim student”, he noted.
“The police are going after Rashmi Samant who raised her voice in this regard. Legal action should be taken against those three students who filmed the girl in the washroom. Action should be taken against those who circulated the video”, he added.