Subramanya police registered a case against unknown persons for allegedly assaulting a Muslim man for roaming with a minor Hindu girl at the Kukke Subramanya, around 100 kilometres from Mangaluru district headquarters, police said on Friday.
According to police, the youth Afeed (20), from Kallugundi near Sullia, came with the minor girl to Kukke Subramanya temple on Thursday.
“A few youths noticed the interfaith couple and questioned them while they were going near the Kumaradhara river. When they came to know that the man and the girl were from other communities, they allegedly assaulted them,” police said.
Officials said Afeed is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sullia and filed a complaint with the Subramanya police, which registered a case against 10-12 unknown persons under sections 323 (assault), 324 (assault), 307 (attempt to murder) and 365 (kidnap) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A photo of Afeed in his undergarment lying on the ground with wounds from the attack has gone viral on social media.
Hours after the incident, the father of the 17-year-old minor girl, studying in the second year of a pre-university degree, filed a complaint with Subramanya police alleging that Afeed attempted to molest the girl while she was waiting for a bus at the KSRTC bus stand.
The father alleged that the man followed her for quite some time and asked for her mobile number. When she refused to give, he allegedly attempted to molest her taking her beside the river.
The police have registered a case under sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 354(B) (sexual assault) of the IPC and section 12 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against Afeed.
According to police, Afeed came in contact with the girl through Instagram and chatted with her for a year. “We have registered a case following both complaints and investigating. We have identified the assaulters and will arrest them soon,‘’ Puttur deputy SP Veeraiah Hiremath told HT.
Upon enquiry, we found the girl is below the age of 18 years and filed a case under Pocso.
