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These pictures make us
wonder whether Bengaluru,
a city by and large known for
its sophistication, is going
the Delhi way? If you have
experienced such horrors in
the city, do write to us at
mybangaloremirror@
timesgroup.com so we can
expose the scum. Or, you can
WhatsApp us at the above
number, with pictures if any.
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‘25-30 men were closing in
on 5 girls... calling names’
MC Abbas had just wrapped up an event at a five-star on Residency Road on
Dec 31 night; along with two bouncers, he rescued the group of youngsters
DURGESH KUMAR Y
HOURS
96 NO
FIRs
| MC
Abbas
FIRST PERSON
TWEETS @BangaloreMirror
„
MS Dhoni quits as
ODI, T20 captain
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has
stepped down as captain of the
team in One-day Internationals
and T20 Internationals. The decision paves the way for the elevation of Virat Kohli to the post. Dhoni, however, will be available for
selection for the ODI and T20 series against England this month.
SPORTS I PAGE 13
»
„
Jagdish Khehar
is first Sikh CJI
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar,
who led the five-judge
Constitution bench in the
Supreme Court which had
struck down the controversial
NJAC Act for appointment of
judges, was on Wednesday
sworn in as the 44th Chief
Justice of India.
NATION I PAGE 11
»
On New Year’s Eve, I was hosting
my Limited Edition Event at a hotel
on Residency Road [adjoining
Brigade Road junction]. The event
got over around midnight. I came
out of the hotel to get into my car
and go home but as I was walking
out of the hotel, I heard women’s
screams and saw them running with
their high heels in their hand, from
Brigade Road junction towards
Mayo Hall. I came out of the gate
and saw a huge commotion outside.
A group of 25-30 men were trying to
surround five girls and three boys.
The hooligans were calling them
names and talking to them disrespectfully. Some of them seemed
drunk. I immediately went inside
the hotel gate and called the two
bouncers who came to escort me till
my car. Three of us came back to the
spot (in front of Hotel Park) to help
the women, who looked frightened.
I raised my voice, warned some of
them. When the bouncers and I
told them that we would call the
cops, they just kept staring at us.
They were silent. It seemed as if it
never occurred to them that they
would be stopped by anyone.
MC Abbas at the spot where the gang of molesters were closing in on the group of girls and boys on New Year’s Eve
As they stood still, wondering
what to do, the bouncers kept them
under surveillance and I escorted
the girls and the guys. The group we
rescued just wanted to go home. I
told them that I would book a cab
and send them home. They told me
that they have already booked a cab
and it is waiting near Mayo Hall.
While we handled the hooligans,
the group ran towards their cab and
fled the scene. I wondered what
would have happened to them had
we not intervened. There were no
AYUB KHAN, BOUNCER
(One of the two who helped Abbas)
When Abbas called us out, we saw
about 30 men, all dressed in black
leather jacket. They seemed drunk and
were calling the women names and trying to surround them. A few were threatening the boys, asking them to leave the
women and go, but the boys were adamant and stayed back. We immediately
went to rescue and raised our voices at
the hooligans. They gathered together
and left the group on their own. The
group was taken care of by Abbas, while
TURN TO PAGE 2
IPS transfers came at the wrong
time, left city police rudderless
In a first, about 50 IPS officers were transferred on the last day of the year, leading to confusion
| Bangalore Mirror Bureau
mybangaloremirror
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @BangaloreMirror
Strong reactions have been
pouring in from around the
world, condemning the
shameful mass molestation
on MG Road on the New
Year’s Eve. While home minister G Parameshwara is at the
receiving end for his foot-inmouth comment, the
Bengaluru city police have
been on the defensive, citing
lack of ‘action evidence’ and
refusing to admit such a brazen incident.
However, the state’s political and bureaucratic circles
have expressed the opinion
that the state government has
to be blamed for the mess.
Resorting to a major bureaucratic reshuffle in a hushhush manner on the last day
of the year, the state government’s decision left the city’s
police force headless, thereby
giving a free-hand to thugs
who went on a rampage on
the city streets.
Leaders cutting across party
lines have questioned state
government’s tactically erroneous decision to transfer
about 50 IPS officers on the
last day of the year, at a time
when there were reports of
massive turnout of youngsters in Central Business
District (CBD) area. Many say
that the decision to transfer
so many officers not only
allowed complacency to set
in but also left lower-rung
officers clueless about who
their bosses for that night
were.
A top bureaucrat of the
state government, refusing to
be officially quoted in this
context, said: “There was no
urgency on the part of the
government to transfer those
many officials. If an officer is
due for promotion, then
there is every reason for the
government to effect its promotion and transfer order so
that the promoted officer
would be entitled to all the
perks and benefits associated
with the new post. But for the
transfer, the government
could have waited for another
day to effect change of guard
at the top levels of Bengaluru
Police force or it could have
even anticipated it by a week.
The government would have
incurred no loss by doing so.”
To add weight the top officer’s opinion, except for N
Satheesh Kumar, among the
top officers of Bengaluru
Commissionerate, no officer
was due for promotion and
all their transfers could have
been deferred by a day or
week. Blaming the state government for the fiasco, former Law minister and BJP
TURN TO PAGE 2
Looking for a ray of hope at sundown
A group of law students want to make city safe for women, without restricting their freedom
| Farheen Hussain
mybangaloremirror
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @BangaloreMirror
The New Year’s Eve incident
points to a rot in society that
requires collective action.
Restricting the freedom of
women in order to keep them
safe can’t be a solution. With
this idea in mind, a group of
law students have come forward with a campaign that
looks to make Bengaluru’s
streets safer for women.
Called (K)Night in Shining
Armour’, the group of
women are sending out the
message that early deadline is
not a solution. Instead, they
are crusading to reclaim the
right to fearlessly walk the
city street even after 8 pm.
Their Facebook page says
the group “..Intends to get
An anonymous group has decided to go on a silent protest
against the shameful molestations that took place on MG Road
on New Year’s Eve.
A human chain formation has
been planned on January 7 in
front of Vidhana Soudha from 11
am to 1 pm. The protest, named
‘Touch Me Not’, will be a way of
bringing the issue up for discus-
sion and solution. “The protest
was organised anonymously by a
group of people with common interests. It will not be any protest
march or sloganeering. We just
plan to stand in front of the Vidhana Soudha silently for a peaceful
protest,” said one of the organisers, who wished to remain anonymous. The organisers claim they
have 50 participants so far, but
expect the number to at least
double by January 7.
more people out on the
streets and remove the stigma
attached to women being
outside their homes after
8PM.”
The group plans to hold its
first event called ‘Í will go
out’, at 8pm on Saturday
(January 7) outside Cauvery
Emporium. The walk will
cover Brigade Road. The
intention is to not only put
the spotlight on the horrors
of New Year’s Eve on MG
Road, but the harassments
women face every day that
are almost never reported.
Nandita Krishna, a member of (K)Night in Shining
Armour, said: “Some people
are saying that there is no
proof of what happened on
A HUMAN CHAIN TO
PROTEST MOLESTATIONS
New Year’s Eve. Some of our
friends faced it that night, so
we know things have happened. This is going to be a
solidarity march. It is not a
protest march, but an
attempt to normalise women’s staying out in the night.
It is not against the authorities, but a cooperative movement wherein we are saying,
‘we will help you, you help
us’. We are not blaming the
authorities or trying to ruffle
any feathers but want to target the molesters. We want
parents of women who are
out at night to not fear anymore. We also want curfews
that restrict personal freedom
removed.”
The laws students said
didn’t want to stay quiet anymore, but “do something
TURN TO PAGE 2
the other bouncer and I threatened the
hooligans and kept them away. They
kept staring at us because they did not
know what to do and we were in uniform; they decided to back off. They did
not leave the place for a long time. We
stood there and made sure that they did
not follow the girls.
It would have been a tragedy had we
not reached out on time. There were no
policemen and the hooligans didn’t
seem afraid of anybody. Such incidents
are wrecking Bengaluru’s harmony. Police should be extra careful about such
situations.
— As told to Mirror
THE ED-VERSARY
B’luru police theory:
Shield the molester,
shoot the messenger
| Ravi S Joshi
mybangaloremirror
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @BangaloreMirror
“It was a terrible night,”
Anantha Subramanyam K
said on Sunday morning
when he called to wish me
on New Year. Anantha had
been assigned to cover the
New Year revelry on MG
Road, where thousands of
Bengalureans converge every
year on its last night.
“Girls were shouting, crying… There was chaos everywhere,” he continued. I have
known Anantha professionally for over six years now
and know that he calls up
only when he’s on to something.
“Send me the pictures,” I
told him. An hour later, when
I received the email I jumped
out of the chair I was sitting
in and got on the phone with
my colleague, Binoy Valsan,
who heads the crime bureau.
Both of us flew into a fit of
rage after looking at the pictures (several women had
been molested as the crowd
surged past midnight) and
decided that we should frontpage the apparent violation of
women and lawlessness that
prevailed on MG RoadBrigade Road junction in the
small hours of January 1.
Let’s call it Bengaluru’s
night of shame, I suggested.
Police will be shaken into
action, we thought; the
molesters will be arrested and
the city will be slightly safer,
we hoped.
Four days after we broke
the story, we are still thinking
and hoping for the same; but
Bengaluru police seem to be
in a state of denial.
We’ve tracked down 10
witnesses (at last count) who
corroborated our story;
women who were groped
How Bengaluru
police reacted to
BM’s story about
NYE horror
multiple times went on
record with their horror stories; the Good Samaritans
who came to the rescue of
some women in distress confirmed our story; colleagues
who drove back home
through the chaos concurred
and shared their own nightmarish experience. The international media caught on to
the story; but only after it
had found independent witnesses with similar tales.
But the police are still in a
state of denial.
The police chief is waiting
for women to come forward
and complain to them so
that he can take action; his
colleagues in the IAS, judiciary, and even a member of
parliament have reminded
him that he has the power to
take suo moto action.
But He shall not be moved.
TURN TO PAGE 2