Shivamogga Police file FIR against senior bank officer for sexual harassment
Shivamogga: The Karnataka Police on Monday filed an FIR against a senior bank officer for allegedly sexually harassing a woman staff member.
The incident was reported from Udupi, and the case has now been transferred to the Doddapet Police Station in Shivamogga for investigation.
According to the police, the complainant alleged that the accused senior colleague had called her to a hotel in Shivamogga under the pretext of a bank meeting, where he touched her inappropriately and behaved in a vulgar manner.
The victim further claimed that the accused had behaved similarly with her on at least three occasions. She also alleged that he would often call her alone for office-related work and, during conversations, touch her inappropriately.
Additionally, the woman alleged that the senior officer had carried out a smear campaign against her, spreading false rumours and linking her name with other staff members in the bank.
The Doddapet Police are currently investigating the case. Further details are awaited.
On October 6, a woman police officer at the Hindalga Prison in Belagavi accused a junior officer of workplace sexual harassment.
Police Inspector Swapna Ullagaddi filed a complaint against Assistant Sub-Inspector Parashuram Bhimappa Banaj for sexual harassment, verbal abuse, inappropriate touch, hitting and pushing her around.
He also attempted to strangle her at the office on October 4 at around 1 p.m., her complaint said. Both officers are members of the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force, vested with security duties in the jail. Parashuram Banaj had also filed a complaint against Swapna Ullagaddi of misconduct, assault during duty hours and insult.
In another case, a 39-year-old woman working for an event management firm accused an auto-rickshaw driver of sexually harassing her after she hired his vehicle on October 18.
On January 6, 2024, a case was registered by a staff member of the Sri Male Mahadeshwara Swamy Kshetra Development Authority (SMMKDA) over alleged sexual harassment. The accused was arrested by the police. The incident was reported at the Sri Kshetra Male Mahadeshwara shrine office in Hanur taluk in Chamrajnagar district, leading to the registration of the case against Mahadevaswamy, a staff member of SMMKDA. The woman, a grade 2 assistant working at SMMKDA for five years, filed a complaint with the police, stating that Mahadevaswamy, the receptionist in the authority’s dormitory, had been consistently harassing her.