The raging controversy and communal tension over a video shot by three Muslim students is finally showing signs of de-escalating after the Udupi police on Tuesday, July 25 said that they have not found any evidence that the video of a Hindu woman using a restroom has been shared online. A tense atmosphere prevailed in the coastal district after allegations surfaced that three Muslim students from a private paramedical college in the district had shot explicit videos of many Hindu girls inside the college restroom. The police revelation has led a student organisation All College Student Power, the main group which was agitating over the issue, to withdraw their protests. The student organisation, which was started by former Hindu Yuva Sene leader Shivakumar Karje, had asked for stringent action against the Muslim students. They released a statement on July 25 saying that they are happy with the investigation and that the video had not been shared with anyone else. The college suspension of the three Muslim women students has, however, not been revoked.
Speaking to reporters, Udupi Superintendent of Police Hakay Akshay Machhindra said, “There’s a lot of confusion as many people are sharing misinformation on social media. I am here to clarify that the video was not shared with anyone. Many have said that there was a hidden camera inside the restroom and videos were being shot. No such thing has come to our attention.”
The SP added that the victim has informed college authorities that she does not want to file a police complaint. “The victim has written to the college that she was acquainted with the three Muslim students and that the video was deleted immediately. She had told the college that she doesn’t want to file a police complaint,” Hakay Akshay Machhindra said.
The founder of ACSP Shivakumar Karje told TNM, “Our goal was to ensure that the victim wasn’t harmed. I don’t understand what kind of prank this was, but we are relieved to know that no video was shared anywhere. The police have investigated the matter and we urge people not to share fake information online,” he said.
The incident, which involved the suspension of three Muslim woman students for recording a video of a Hindu classmate in the restroom, had sparked tension in the region. Many right-wing groups actively spread rumours and misinformation on social media, claiming that nude videos of hundreds of Hindu women were being circulated to Muslim men as part of a larger Jihadi conspiracy.
One right-wing activist had claimed that many of the girls who were featured in the videos are depressed and disturbed to the extent that they are contemplating self-harm/suicide. The activist also made references to the 1992 Ajmer case involving the systematic blackmail and sexual abuse of as many as a hundred school and college girls by well-connected persons, some of whom had ties with a Sufi dargah. Following this, police turned up at the activist’s house to question her and many BJP leaders have strongly condemned this.
An hour after the police press meet in Udupi on July 25, Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna of the BJP reiterated that private videos of Hindu women were shot by Muslim women and were being shared with ‘anti-social forces’. He said, "The government is washing its hands off the Muslim students who were involved in the attempt to ruin the lives of the Hindu students. This will not be allowed for any reason. There will be no rest until the culprits are brought to justice and the victims get justice."
ಇದು ಉಡುಪಿ - ಪೊಡವಿಗೊಡೆಯ ಶ್ರೀ ಕೃಷ್ಣನ ಊರು - ಹಿಂದುತ್ವದ ಭದ್ರಕೋಟೆ. ಯಾರನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಡುವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ತಪ್ಪಿತಸ್ಥರನ್ನು ಬಿಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ.@BJP4Karnataka @blsanthosh @CTRavi_BJP @RashmiDVS pic.twitter.com/C3r9RkEO5w
— Yashpal Anand Suvarna (@YashpalBJP) July 25, 2023
TNM had earlier reported that the police and the college maintained that the incident was an isolated one within the college and had no communal angle to it.
According to the college chairman, the suspension of the three students was based on two violations: the college's ban on mobile phones on campus and the alleged recording of a video in the restroom. He said that the video was deleted in front of the victim. The college informed the police about the matter and handed over the mobile phone used to record the video.