Video: Karnataka Auto-Rickshaw Driver Assaulted For Ferrying Female Passenger Of Different Faith, 3 Held

The incident took place on August 2 at around 9 PM when the victim, 22-year-old Mohammed Ashique, had dropped a girl from another faith at the bus stand.

Mangaluru, Karnataka:  The Karnataka Police has arrested three people who allegedly assaulted an auto-rickshaw driver for ferrying a woman passenger belonging to a different faith. According to the police, three people, purportedly right wing activists, involved in the recent moral policing incident at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada, have been arrested and booked under relevant sections of the law.

The arrested have been identified as Avinash (26), Sandeep (20) of Dharmasthala and Akshath (22) of Uppinangady. All the three have been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody, police sources said, adding search is on for one more accused in the case, news agency PTI reported.

Giving details, police said the incident took place on August 2 at around 9 PM when the victim, 22-year-old Mohammed Ashique, had dropped a girl from another faith at the bus stand. The girl, studying at a private college at Ujire, had called the auto rickshaw to go to the nearby stand.

The driver was attacked and threatened by four men when he was returning after dropping the girl. He later got admitted to Belthangady government hospital and lodged a complaint with the police.

#Karnataka: Mohammed Ashiq an autorickshaw driver was assaulted in Karnataka's #Dharmasthala on the night of Aug 2, when he was returning after dropping a Hindu woman passenger to KSRTC bus stop.

In his complaint Ashiq said the woman had hired his autorickshaw to travel from… pic.twitter.com/F4M5O9b0Ux

— Saba Khan (@ItsKhan_Saba) August 3, 2023

Bus driver forbids girl students from boarding unless they wear burqa

Meanwhile, in a related incident, last month a bus driver in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district, allegedly disallowed school girl from boarding the vehicle as they were not wearing burqas. Videos of the incident went viral on social media platforms and sparked a row over forcing religious diktats upon children.

As per reports at the time, the children were making their daily commute from Okali village in Kamalapur taluk to Basavakalyan when the bus drivers forbade the girl students from boarding the bus unless they put on burqas.

The driver allegedly told the students that a burqa is the only appropriate covering for Muslim girls and even students who were wearing hijabs were deboarded.

“Wear a burqa, not a hijab. It’s the appropriate dress for Muslim women. Only then will I allow you to board the bus,” the driver allegedly told one of the students, according to an Op-India report.

Kalaburagi (Karnataka) : A bus driver allegedly refused to allow schoolgirls to board the vehicle unless they were in burqa. The incident occurred when the students were on their way to Basavakalyan from Okali village in Kamalapur taluk for their daily commute to school.… pic.twitter.com/ahEYb74EXy

— Upendrra Rai (@UpendrraRai) July 27, 2023

“If you’re a Muslim, wear a burqa, not a hijab. Only then will we allow you to board the bus,” the driver said.

Quoting a student on the condition of anonymity, the report claimed that the driver demanded the girls wear a burqa and questioned their faith.

This Bus Driver from Kalaburagi, Karnataka stopped muslim girl students from boarding the bus because they were wearing Hijab and not Burqa.

Liberals said, "Burqa is a choice" but they never specified, "Whose Choice???" 🫡🫡 pic.twitter.com/yz4dtVBksq

— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) July 28, 2023

Questioned about the incident by other commuters, the driver claimed that his bus (KA 38 F1074) had broken down and the students had become a nuisance

(With PTI inputs)

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