Karnataka’s home minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said his comments on the recent molestation incident in Bengaluru’s BTM Layout were misinterpreted by the media, and he expressed regret after public backlash over his remarks. He also stressed his commitment to ensuring the safety of women in the state in a statement.
Parameshwara told reporters on Tuesday, “Yesterday (Monday), my statement has not been properly understood by you (media), and other platforms too have understood it differently. I’m always for women’s protection,” Parameshwara told reporters on Tuesday. He added, “If my statement has caused pain to anyone — our sisters, mothers, I express regret.”
Reiterating his stance on women’s safety, the minister said, “I believe and have taken several measures for the protection of women — our sisters and mothers. If there are any issues (concerning women’s safety), I have made officials in the department responsible. So my statement should not be projected by distorting it.”
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Parameshwara also said he was not speaking for political opponents but apologising to those genuinely hurt by the remarks. “I’m not saying this for those from the BJP, who are doing politics. If my statement has caused pain to anyone — our sisters and mothers- I express regret. But there is no need to take it to different platforms by projecting it differently,” he added.
Despite the clarification, the BJP maintained its criticism. “A woman was molested in Bengaluru’s BTM Layout, and the entire act was caught on camera. The shocking part? Instead of outrage or action, Karnataka home minister and Congress leader G Parameshwara dismissed it with a casual, ‘Such incidents do take place in a large city.’ Is this the level of concern Congress has for women’s safety?” the party said in a social media post.
On Monday, Parameshwara said, “But such incidents do take place once in a while in such a big city. For that, we will take action as per law,” drawing criticism from multiple quarters. His comments were widely condemned by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Commission for Women (NCW), both of which demanded accountability from the Congress-led government.
The incident occurred in the early hours of April 3, when two women walking through a narrow alley were approached by an unidentified man. CCTV footage, timestamped 1:52 am, shows the man cornering one of the women and groping her before fleeing the scene. The footage, which has since gone viral, shows the women visibly distressed as they walk away.
In the wake of the incident, Parameshwara instructed the Bengaluru police to increase patrolling, especially during night hours, to bolster women’s safety across the city.
According to Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayanand, multiple teams are currently working to identify the accused. “Multiple police teams are working to identify the accused, with footage from over 300 cameras under review. The investigation is being led by DCP South East. Night and day patrols, checkpoints, and a monitoring system by senior officers are in place,” Dayanand said.
Investigators have identified several suspects based on the CCTV footage and are currently questioning them.
A case has been registered under sections related to assault, sexual harassment, and stalking. Authorities tracked down the victims, but the women requested privacy and expressed unwillingness to participate in the investigation. Police are also grappling with the low quality of the CCTV footage, which has slowed the identification process.