‘Strip’ row in Hubballi
HL: ‘Strip’ row in Hubballi
Strap: A viral arrest of a woman sparks rival narratives & political slugfest, leaving citizens hunting for truth & accountability
Blurb:
Amid the political din, voices from civil society have urged restraint and a return to principles first. Women’s rights activists have condemned the incident and cautioned against reducing it to a party-versus-party battle.
OB Bureau
A disturbing incident in Hubballi has spiralled into a high-voltage mix of public outrage, political mudslinging and serious questions over police conduct, after videos linked to the arrest of a woman went viral midweek.
What began as a local law-and-order episode has now drawn national attention, putting the spotlight firmly on the Keshavpur police station and the state government’s response.
At the centre of the storm is Sujatha Handi, who alleged that she was beaten and stripped by police while being arrested from the Chalukya Nagar area earlier this week. Handi was taken into custody in connection with an alleged attack on government officials who had arrived in her locality to carry out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The police, however, have flatly denied the allegations, offering a sharply contrasting version of events. Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar said Handi stripped herself while being taken to the police van and assaulted officers during the arrest. A counter case has since been registered against her.
Shashikumar said eight to ten women police officers were part of the arrest team. When Handi allegedly removed her clothes, the commissioner said, the women officers requested local residents to arrange another set of clothes and repeatedly asked her to dress herself.
The confrontation, police said, turned violent. Four women police officers were injured during the incident, including one who was allegedly bitten. Another case has been registered based on a complaint by a woman police officer accusing Handi of obstructing officials from discharging their duty and assaulting them.
The commissioner added that Handi has nine pending cases and has been remanded to judicial custody. He has also ordered an inquiry into the sequence of events between January 1 and January 5.
As the videos continued to circulate and public anger mounted, the issue moved swiftly beyond Karnataka. The National Commission for Women (NCW) took suo motu cognisance of the alleged assault of the BJP woman worker.
In a letter to the Karnataka Director General of Police, the NCW sought the registration of an FIR and called for a fair, impartial and time-bound investigation. A detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) has been sought within five days.
Political slugfest ensues
In politically charged Karnataka, the controversy was never going to remain confined to facts and procedure. Once it emerged that the woman involved was a BJP worker, the incident exploded into a full-blown political flashpoint, with the Opposition and ruling dispensation trading sharp barbs.
Within minutes of the video going viral, BJP leader C. T. Ravi described the incident as a human rights violation and demanded action against those responsible. Local BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginakai went a step further, alleging that the police acted under pressure from a Congress councillor. What followed was a rapid escalation from outrage to open political warfare.
The BJP demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident, while Opposition leader R. Ashoka invoked the Mahabharata to frame his attack on the Congress government. “In the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra was blind and Gandhari had blindfolded herself. Similarly, here Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is blind and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar has blindfolded himself,” Ashoka alleged. Drawing a dramatic parallel, he claimed the police had stripped the woman “like Dushasana”, calling the incident a mirror reflecting the collapse of law and order.
The government, however, pushed back firmly against the Opposition’s charges. Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the issue should not be politicised, especially when it involved a woman, and asserted that the government stood by the clarification issued by the police department.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Parameshwara said, “Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar has already issued a clarification, and I stand by that statement. There is nothing more to it. If someone wants to make a political issue out of it, we will handle it. The clarification given is sufficient.”
‘Explanations before accountability’
Amid the political din, voices from civil society have urged restraint and a return to principles first. Women’s rights activists have condemned the incident and cautioned against reducing it to a party-versus-party battle.
Women’s rights activist Brinda Adige stressed that political identity was irrelevant in a case involving alleged custodial misconduct. “It does not matter which political party the woman belongs to. What is important is that she is a citizen of this country and must be protected under constitutional rights,” she said.
Calling the incident “absolutely unacceptable and atrocious”, Adige pointed out that police personnel are trained to enforce the law, not become law unto themselves. She questioned the emphasis on explanations before accountability.
“Details can be collected later. First, everyone who was present should be suspended. Then conduct enquiries. There can be no excuses for treating a citizen in such a horrible manner,” she said.
Adige also underlined that strict protocols govern the treatment of individuals in police custody. “In this case, the woman was in police custody. Common sense alone should have prevailed. The state government must intervene. Political affiliation is secondary. First and foremost, she is a citizen, and her constitutional rights must be protected,” she said, adding that she hoped the Home Minister would take cognisance of the matter.
As investigations, inquiries and political exchanges continue, the Hubballi episode remains a stark reminder of how quickly allegations of custodial excess can ignite public anger — and how, in Karnataka’s charged political climate, the search for truth risks being drowned out by the noise of competing narratives.