Moral policing case: Three held for assault on auto driver at Dharmasthala

Mangaluru: Three people have been arrested for the alleged assault on a Muslim auto rickshaw driver for carrying a Hindu girl in his vehicle near Dharmasthala in Belthangady taluk here

The arrested have been identified as Avinash (26), Sandeep (20) of Dharmasthala and Akshath (22) of Uppinangady. The three accused have been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. A search is on for one more accused in the case, police said.

The incident occurred on August 2 night when the driver Mohammad Ashique (22) had dropped a Hindu girl at the bus stand. The girl, studying at a private college in Ujire, had taken the auto-rickshaw to go to the bus stand in order to go to her native.

The activists waylaid Ashique’s auto when he was returning after dropping the passenger and assaulted him.