BMTC to teach self-defence skills to women employees

News Network

November 22, 2020

Bengaluru, Nov 22: In a bid to empower its women staff to be the custodians of their own safety, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is preparing to teach it women employees, especially conductors, self-defence courses.

According to officials, the intensive practical training of karate, judo, martial arts, gender sensitization, self-assertiveness, legal knowledge, counselling skills, and public speaking will be given to its employees.

There are more than 3,000 women employees including conductors in BMTC. Officials said that a total of 42 hours of self-defence training will be held in a period of 21 days and each session will be 120 minutes long.

The BMTC, in a press release, said that sexual harassment of women in public spaces and at the workplace is daunting in magnitude as it plagues half of humanity. It said that the problem is undeniably acute, with women grappling with street sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence on a daily basis.

"There are instances where women staff of the BMTC who work as conductors and security personnel are also at the receiving end of such unacceptable behaviour from commuters as well as from their male colleagues," the press releases said.

It said that the BTMC, as an organisation, would like to make a meaningful intervention to address the problem by facilitating gender sensitisation training for all staff and self-defence training for its all-women staff.

"The course content will be practically oriented such that women of all ages and fitness may adopt the techniques taught. It will be based on typical threatening scenarios that may encounter in everyday life and easy techniques to extricate themselves out of such situations using simple defensive and offensive moves," it added.

The decision by the BMTC was well received by its staff, especially the women employees.

"It's great news that the department is taking an initiative to teachers self-defence skills because we have faced such instances many times and there are people who come and misbehave with us," Jayamala, a conductor in the BMTC, said.

Nasreen, another conductor who has been working in the BMTC for over seven years, said that women staffers are often worried about their safety on duty.

"We were worried when people behave with us. While issuing tickets or asking for change, often we face difficulties with some people. This is a commendable move by the department. We must learn something that can help us to defend ourselves," she said.

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HC refuses to quash probe against Mangaluru WhatsApp admin over offensive posts

News Network

February 1,2026

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash an investigation against a WhatsApp group administrator accused of allowing the circulation of obscene and offensive images depicting Hindutva politicians and idols in 2021.

Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that, prima facie, the ingredients of the offence under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code were made out. “The offence under Section 295A of the IPC is met to every word of its ingredient, albeit prima facie,” the judge said.

The petitioner, Sirajuddin, a resident of Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, had challenged the FIR registered against him at the CEN (Cyber, Economics and Narcotics) police station, Mangaluru, for offences under Section 295A of the IPC and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. Section 295A relates to punishment for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens.

According to the complaint filed by K Jayaraj Salian, also a resident of Belthangady taluk, he received a WhatsApp group link from an unknown source and was added to the group after accessing it. The group reportedly had six administrators and around 250 participants, where obscene and offensive images depicting Hindu deities and certain political figures were allegedly circulated repeatedly.

Sirajuddin was arrested in connection with the case and later released on bail on February 16, 2021. He argued before the court that he was being selectively targeted, while other administrators—including the creator of the group—were neither arrested nor investigated. He also contended that the Magistrate could not have taken cognisance of the offence under Section 295A without prior sanction under Section 196(1) of the CrPC.

Rejecting the argument, Justice Nagaprasanna held that prior sanction is required only at the stage of taking cognisance, and not at the stage of registration of the crime or during investigation.

The judge noted that the State had produced the entire investigation material before the court. “A perusal of the material reveals depictions of Hindu deities in an extraordinarily obscene, demeaning and profane manner. The content is such that its reproduction in a judicial order would itself be inappropriate,” the court said, adding that the material, on its face, had the tendency to outrage religious feelings and disturb communal harmony.

Observing that the case was still at the investigation stage, the court said it could not interdict the probe at this juncture. However, it expressed concern that the investigating officer appeared to have not proceeded uniformly against all administrators. The court clarified that if the investigation revealed the active involvement of any member in permitting the circulation of such content, they must also be proceeded against.

“At this investigative stage, any further observation by this Court would be unnecessary,” the order concluded.

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