Police have also appealed to the survivor, requesting her to come forward and file a formal complaint so that they can further investigate the matter and book the person

Amid outrage over a video in which a man is seen groping a woman on a Bengaluru street before running away, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara’s comment will likely add to the public anger. Responding to questions over the shocking video, the minister in charge of law and order has said such incidents can occur in a big city like Bengaluru.

The minister has said he has been pressing the city police to improve patrolling. “I keep telling the police commissioner daily to be careful, to monitor all areas through patrolling. This is something I say almost every day. When some incidents happen here and there, of course people’s attention will be drawn towards them. The cops are working 24X7. Some incidents happen here and there. In such a big city, such incidents will happen. We will take necessary action according to the law. I have spoken to the commissioner this morning too,” he said.

In a CCTV video that has now gone viral, a man is seen following two women in an alley at the BTM Layout neighbourhood. Suddenly, he gropes one of the women while another tries to defend her. The man then flees the spot. The women, terrified by the incident, are seen walking away.

Police have registered a case under sections relating to assault, sexual harassment and stalking. But they do not know the woman’s identity because she has not come forward to file a complaint.

The BJP has hit out at the Siddaramaiah government over the incident. The Opposition party has said the viral video has exposed the reality of the city’s law and order situation and claimed that Bengaluru is becoming “increasingly unsafe” for women.

BJP spokesperson Prashanth G said, “This is such an insensitive remark. Is he normalising sexual assault and crimes against women? He is shying away from responsibility and doesn’t want to be accountable.” 

BJP MLA and former deputy chief minister Ashwath Narayan said the state home minister’s remark reflects his helplessness.

“The groping incident is condemnable. The Home Minister’s response is disgusting and demotivating. People are losing confidence because of these incidents and statements. His statement shows how helpless he is as a home minister. He should make a responsible statement,” said Mr Narayan.

Vowing to protect the jobs of ‘deserving’ teachers whose appointment was cancelled by a Supreme Court order, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today cited the example of the all-India medical entrance exam NEET and said the top court did not cancel the whole examination in that case.

“The Supreme Court must clarify who is deserving and who is not. Give us the list. No one has the right to break the education system. In the Vyapam case in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, so many people were killed. They have not got justice till today. In NEET, many allegations surfaced. The Supreme Court did not cancel the examination. Why is Bengal being targeted? We want to know. You are scared of Bengal’s talent,” she told a gathering of sacked teachers at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium. 

“If the Supreme Court provides us clarity, we will be grateful. If not, we will find a way and stand by you. Suffer for two months, you don’t have suffer for 20 years. And I will compensate for those two months too. You won’t have to beg,” she said.

The Supreme Court last week cancelled the appointments of more than 25,000 teachers and school staff recruited by the West Bengal School Service Commission in 2016 after large-scale irregularities were found in the recruitment process.

Citing legal precedents, the court said this is a case “wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution.” “Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded,” the bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said in its order.

The order noted that the School Service Commission “has been candid enough to admit; (i) rank jumping, that is, to say candidates having lower rank were preferred over those having higher rank, (ii) out of panel appointments, that is, candidates who are not in the panel of shortlisted candidates have been recommended and appointed, (iii) candidates who were not recommended by WBSSC were appointed by the Board, and (iv) manipulation of the OMR scores”.

The court also noted that the School Service Commission had destroyed the OMR sheets and said there is “no justification” for this move.

“In spite of the factual background and the credible evidence indicating irregularities, WBSSC initially did try and cover up the lapses and illegalities. The cover up itself has made the verification and ascertainment more difficult or rather impossible given the scale of camouflage and dressing up done at each stage. We are convinced that the entire selection process was intentionally compromised due to the illegalities involved,” it said.

The court said that candidates not found to be tainted won’t need to refund salaries they received through the years, but their services will be terminated. The court asked the state government to repeat the recruitment process in three months.

Under fire, Mamata Banerjee has responded by accusing Opposition parties BJP and CPM of hatching a conspiracy aimed at the “collapse of the state education system”. Targeting the rivals today, she said, “You have people everywhere. But don’t snatch jobs from teachers to target me. Remember, an injured tiger is more dangerous. It’s an attack on our government,” she said.

“We have to accept the court’s order, seek clarification and file a review petition too. You have not received a termination letter, so you keep working,” she said, asking the teachers to continue working.