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Bangalore's 'Night of Shame': Mass molestation in India's Silicon Valley on New Year's Eve

More than 1,500 cops failed to protect the women.

Sohini Mitter

on January 3, 2017

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It is a familiar narrative for India. And that is the most unfortunate part.

Women party-goers on New Year's Eve were harassed and molested en masse in the city of Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley.

What is most stunning, not in a good way though, is that drunken molesters could not be contained by even 1,500-plus policemen deployed in the area to ensure an "incident-free" New Year.

The attackers came in large numbers and wreaked havoc in the middle of the night across two prominent streets in the heart of the city.

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Local newspaper Bangalore Mirror's photographers stood eyewitnesses. One of them reportedly revealed, “People were acting like they were helping the women, but actually they were molesting them, insulting them, just provoking them."

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Some of the assaulted women took to social media to express their shock.

What added insult to injury, quite literally, is a local leader's — the state of Karnataka's Home Minister no less — brazen reaction to the incident. He has claimed that "these kinds of things do happen" on New Year's Eve.

And has conveniently blamed it on women aping "western culture" — a retort that is rather common, and lacking common sense, in this part of the world.

It has rightly angered citizens, especially women who are struggling to break out of a conservative society that has no respect for them as individuals.

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Sexual assault and molestation are among the most under-reported crimes in India, and even in this case, the Bangalore Police has revealed that they have not received any official complaints yet.

Now, it is to be seen whether any concrete action is taken against the molesters or the incident is brushed under the rug.

Topics Social Media