Udupi Case: Old Questions And New

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged filming of girls in a paramedical college in Udupi, the Karnataka Police has issued a statement that they have not found any concrete evidence of videos being filmed or circulated.

Udupi Superintendent of Police (SP) Hakay Akshay Macchindra, speaking to reporters in Udupi denied the possibility of any hidden cameras being used, a TV9 report quoted him as saying.

He further stated that no video has been shared with anyone.

Previously, Swarajya's report had listed the developments of the case in detail from how it began to what the involved parties have to say about the alleged incident.

Click here to read the full report for context.

Two days later, many questions still remain unanswered.

Why The Delay In Bringing The Matter To The Police?

As soon as the issue gained traction on social media (around 20 July), local student bodies like All India College Power (R) approached the Udupi police with a complaint copy. (Details in the aforementioned Swarajya report).

The student bodies wanted the matter to be immediately investigated. AICP's Rachan Saliyan had also told Swarajya that the victims might be under possible pressure to not lodge a complaint with the police.

According to a news report published by Asianet Suvarna News, the college management has now informed the media that the accused students have made a confession admitting that they recorded the video. But they immediately deleted it.

Since the girls from the minority community (the accused) were friends of the victim/s, the victim has reportedly decided not to press charges against them.

The question however remains: Why did the college itself not bring the matter to the attention of the police?

Further Investigation?

Speaking to Swarajya, the founder of All India College Power (AICP), Shivkumar Karje stated that the matter needs further investigation.

"Just entertaining the possibility that there is an attempt to tamper with the evidence is something one should think of, especially when the case is a sensitive one, like this. Messages (videos, in this case), can be easily deleted and cleared from the phone. But a forensic examination of the phone by the cyber crime department can confirm whether or not there is a possibility of that nature", he said.

He further stated that he appreciated the Udupi police's immediate action on the matter. But to douse any suspicions or loopholes in the investigation, he called for the above.

Possible Pressure On The Victim?

In the earlier report, Swarajya tried to probe the possibility of the victims being under pressure to not file a police complaint.

Here are some unaddressed issues in this regard.

One, has the police looked into the possibility of the victim coming under the pressure of the college management, or the accused and their families to not lodge a complaint?

Two, the victim herself may find the attention of the media and the management too overwhelming at this point. In such a possibility, are the victims getting the required support?

'Prank'?

If the management has suspended the accused for carrying a mobile phone to college (which is banned according to their institutional rules), why is there no comment on the alleged incident — that the victim was wrongly filmed?

If the management claims to have suspended the victim for doing so, then the first question arises again — why the delay in informing the police?

Ultimately, any college management, especially in a communally sensitive region like Udupi must be aware of the fallouts of such incidents.

It should be the management's first prerogative to inform the police to investigate the case further.

Intimidation of activists?

Earlier yesterday, Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna put out a series of tweets wherein he stated that he met the family of Hindu activist Rashmi Samant who initially brought this matter to everyone's attention on social media.

Rashmi, according to him, is not in Karnataka. He alleges that the Udupi police have been continuously making calls to her parents and asking her whereabouts.

Rashmi has tweeted about the same stating that "Its both funny and sad to see an entire ecosystem including police trying to pin me down for speaking out against a crime instead of taking action against the perpetrators. Godspeed to this society and establishment!".

More Developments

Yesterday, on 25 July, a user on 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) wrote a tweet thread that claimed to give a factual account of the case.

The summary of the tweet thread of Mithesh Kumar Moodukonaje is below:

18 July 2023:

He states that the incident occurred on 18 July 2023, around 3pm, when the victim visited the restroom. She reportedly saw a "hand holding phone camera above the door recording her activities". When the victim reported this to the college authorities, the accused students allegedly accepted their mistake and admitted to recording the victim.

19 July 2023:

More students come forward to share that a similar incident had occurred with them.

20 July 2023:

On the morning of 20 July 2023, students of the college reportedly staged a protest in the premises and refused to attend classes.

By the noon time, this is what transpired next, according to Mithesh:

"Police arrive at campus on July 20, 2023 at 12.30hrs. Upon arrival they convinced the protesting students of registering the case & taking appropriate action by signing the request letter given by the protesting students and taken the students upstairs to the classrooms.

"Students demanded police to give duplicate copy of the request letter they have signed but the police didn’t entertain the request. In classrooms students were made to sit for hours & given unnecessary lecture about online frauds by police, Trustees, Advocate, Admin & principal".

12.30PM:

The letter attached, written by the students of the college, reads as follows:

"From,

Students of Netra Jyoti College, Udupi

To,

Police authorities, Udupi

Respected Sir,

Subject: Requesting assurance

Relating to the incident that occurred on 18 July 2023 in our college, we have already made an inquiry. We request you to investigate the accused and let us know the outcomes of the investigation at the earliest.

We hope that no students are in danger's way from the accused and we hope that the accused face action.

We need to know the people responsible for the incident. This is our request.

Yours faithfully,

NJC students."

4PM, same day:

By 4pm, the college authorities advise the students against interacting with the media or requesting support from external organisations such as the Bajrang Dal.

21 July 2023:

According to Mithesh, "Next day on July 21, 2023 victim students & parents were called in to closed door meeting with Trustees, Admin & Principal. In this meeting they threatened the victim students & parents & made them give written assurance that they will not approach police & register a complaint."

24 July 2023:

Since the demands of the students were not met, and the college refused to register and complaint with the police and begin the investigation, the students made a plea to the local MLA Yashpal Suvarna and submitted the below-mentioned letter, requesting his intervention to seek justice to the victims.

Present day:

Several BJP leaders including B L Santosh, local MLA Yashpal Suvarna, state president Nalin Kumar Kateel have tweeted assuring support for the students and for activists facing police scrutiny.

Kashyap Nandan, a member of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's campaign team tweeted yesterday that a complaint has been filed against Rashmi Samant in Udupi.

However, a copy of the complaint is yet to be accessed.

26 July 2023:

Rashmi Samant has tweeted that an FIR has been filed against the three accused girls in Udupi.

Furthermore, chairperson for National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, in a tweet, confirmed that Khushbu Sundar, a member of NCW is visiting Udupi to speak to the students, police and the accused.

Swarajya will continue to provide updates on this story.