Sixteen months ago, a group of men entered the hotel room of an interfaith couple in Karnataka’s Haveri and dragged the woman into a forest where she reported being gang-raped. Fast forward to 2025, and seven of those men have been given bail. This was followed by a victory procession with bikes, cars, music, and loud jubilant cries.
This parade occurred in Akki Alur town of Haveri, where a convoy of motorcycles surrounding the released men traveled the streets. The video shows the accused smiling and posing with signs of victory. A lot of people were outraged.
The Haveri Sessions Court granted bail recently to the seven main accused, Aftab Chandanakatti, Madar Saab Mandakki, Samiwulla Lalanavar, Mohammad Sadiq Agasimani, Shoib Mulla, Tausif Choti, and Riyaz Savikeri. All had been in judicial custody for several months after being arrested in connection with gang-raping a 26-year-old woman.
Gang rape accused celebrate in a victory procession after securing BAIL in Haveri
Names-Mohammad Sadiq Agasimani, Shoib Mulla, Tausip, Samiwulla Lalanavar, Aftab Chandanakatti, Madar Saab Mandakki, & Riyaz Savikeri
Law & order collapsed in the statepic.twitter.com/Jc6CZODXTh https://t.co/tuNTL1Lxcs---Advertisement---— Nishkama_Karma (@Nishkama_Karma1) May 23, 2025
The survivor, who is from a minority community and had a reportedly long-term relationship with a 40-year-old Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) driver, checked into a private hotel in Hanagal dated January 8, 2024. The police investigation later found that the woman had been pulled from the premises and taken to a nearby forested area where she was allegedly gang-raped.
A case for gang rape was registered after a survivor had provided a detailed statement in which she had identified the suspects during an identification parade. Subsequently, she reportedly did not identify the accused men in her testimony, which undermined the prosecution’s case.
Although the case began as moral policing. The local police initially registered it as a case of moral policing because the survivor and her partner were an interfaith couple going into a private hotel room together. It was not until the woman gave a statement to the magistrate on January 11., that gang-rape charges were added by police.
In total, 19 people were arrested in this case, including the seven main accused. 12 others were said to have either helped to carry out the crime or personally assaulted the survivor. Twelve of the 19 accused were released on bail around ten months ago. The remaining 7, who were seen to be the main accused, were denied bail repeatedly until the recent court decision.
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