Seven persons arrested for forcing woman to remove hijab at Vellore Fort

Police said the incident took place on March 27, when a group of persons forced a woman, who had entered the fort for sight-seeing, to remove her hijab; one of the perpetrators took a video of the incident and circulated it on social media platforms; police have warned the public against circulating the video further

Seven persons, including a 17-year-old juvenile, have been arrested by the North Police in Vellore on Thursday, for forcing a woman to remove her hijab (headscarf) inside the 16th century Vellore Fort Complex, a few days ago.

Police said the arrested persons include S. Imran Pasha, 23, K. Santhosh, 22, Ibrahim Basha, 24, C. Prasanth, 20, Ashraf Basha, 20, and Mohammed Faizal, 22. Most of them are autorickshaw drivers in the area. The juvenile has been sent to the government home.

Mobile phones of the arrested persons were also seized by the police, and have been sent to the cyber crime wing for analysis. “Cases have been registered against the arrested persons for intentional insults and indulging in wanton vilification. They [arrested persons] also acted against individual freedom,” S. Rajesh Kannan, Superintendent of Police, Vellore, told The Hindu.

An initial inquiry revealed that it was around noon on Monday, March 27 that a woman, with her friend, visited the fort complex for sight-seeing, when a group of persons allegedly stopped them, asking the woman to remove her hijab. One of the members on the group shot a video of the incident, and uploaded it on to social media platforms, which went viral.

Following the incident, a case was filed by the North Police, which is located opposite to the fort complex, based on ta complaint given by Village Administrative Officer (VAO) for North Vellore town on Wednesday, March 29. Subsequently, five special police teams were formed to nab the persons involved in the incident. After searches, the seven persons were arrested on charges of endangering public safety, threat to personal freedom, intention to create enmity between two sections of people and acting against the modesty of women.

Police have also warned people from sharing the video clip of the incident on social media platforms and other forums. Cases will be filed against those circulating the video clip, on charges of cyber bullying, provisions under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act. Police have also increased the surveillance inside the fort complex, following the incident.

Further investigations are on, police said.