Karnataka Police have arrested three persons in connection with a moral policing, extortion and assault case in Belagavi district, police sources said on Wednesday.
The accused persons have been identified as Dawat Qateeb, Ayub and Yusuf Pathan. The Police have formed a special team under the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to nab the other accused persons.
According to Police, the 28-year-old woman from Sankeshwar town and her friend from Raibagh had asked an auto driver to take them to a park. Instead of taking them to a park, the auto driver had taken them to an isolated place in Aman Nagar.
The girl was allegedly beaten up for going out with a boy from another religion. The girl in the complaint said a 20-member group had attacked her and the boy with rods and sticks.
Miscreants also robbed away Rs 50,000 cash, mobile phones worth Rs 20,000, Aadhaar cards and ATM cards.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vikram Amate said the incident had taken place on October 14 and the girl had registered a police complaint in connection with the incident under Malamaruthi police station in Belagavi.
Three accused have been arrested and a special team has been formed under an ACP ranked police officer to nab other accused persons. "We have taken the case seriously. Those aggrieved must contact our emergency response system if they feel threatened," he added.
Another case of moral policing was reported from Belgavi on Tuesday where a group of local people heckled two girls speaking to their friends at Belagavi Bus Stand.
The group tried to remove the 'hijab' (face cover) of the girls and asked phone numbers of their parents while objecting to speaking to a boy from another religion. They asked their names and abused them. However, police rushed to the spot and dispersed the crowd. However, the girl did not lodge a complaint in the case.
Recently, Belagavi Police had arrested the girl's parents and Hindu group leaders for allegedly hacking a youth from another religion to death for being in a relationship with a Hindu girl.