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MANGALORE: City police is yet to nab the 15 accused named in the chargesheet filed in connection with the July 28 attack on young revellers at a birthday party at Morning Mist Home Stay at Padil in the city.

Police had arrested 29 persons, including the main accused Subash Padil, and all of them are under judicial custody at the District Jail. The attack on students, who were celebrating their birthdays, sent shockwaves across the country. According to police, they are still ’absconding’.

Other than moral support from a few organizations, there were no official efforts to assuage the feelings of the girls and boys, who were beaten up by activists of Hindu Jagarana Vedike.

Recalling the incident, one of the victims narrated as to how she was dragged back into the house.

"I saw the men coming and jumped from the balcony. But they chased me and dragged me back into the room. They touched me in inappropriate places," she said. According to her, the attackers behaved like animals.

When another girl asked the assaulters why they were being targeted, they reportedly abused and slapped her. One of the male friends was also made to sit on the bed along with others to project the revellers in a bad light. The state government had immediately sent Karnataka State Commission for Women (KSCW) chairperson C Manjula to conduct an inquiry into the incident. However, Manjula, instead of consoling the victims, ended up criticizing them and made allegations against the mother of a victim.

The mother of one of the victims was allegedly booked in an immoral trafficking case in 2009, but the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence, Manjula had stated.

It was the DK Mahila Dourjanya Virodhi Vedike which worked for the victims and submitted a memorandum to the National Commission for Women (NCW) requesting to annul the report of KSCW on homestay attack.

Vedike activist Sabeeha Bhoomigowda told STOI that they had prepared a fact finding report on the homestay attack only after meeting all the victims and their parents. "Despite police denial, the report of KSCW has stated that a rave party was taking place at the homestay. The report prepared by KSCW is deliberately trying to lead one astray with regard to the facts of the incident by creating and highlighting certain false information about the event and glossing over what actually happened at the homestay on that day," she added.

Women rights activist Kripa Amar Alva said that perpetrators of the attack on women should be punished severely to prevent such instances in future.

"It is sad that culprits in most of the crimes against women are not punished severely. Laws related to crime against women need to be made strong. The special fast track courts should be set up to try cases related to crime against women and culprits should get punishment immediately after the crime," Kripa said.

The case file

Police filed the FIR against 44 persons in connection with the case before the III Judicial Magistrate First Class court on September 20. Assistant commissioner of police TR Jagannath filed the chargesheet as per the high court’s directions. The case against 29 persons is pending before the III Judicial Magistrate First Class court. Naveen Soorinje, reporter of a Kannada news channel, who was arrested in connection with the incident on November 7 as the 44th accused, has filed a bail plea and another writ to quash the cognizance against him in the high court. While accused Venugopal and Tharanath too have approached the high court for bail, the plea of remaining 26 persons is pending before the First Additional District and Sessions Judge’s court here.