BANGALORE, India—A 60-year-old widow, two other women, and one man were assaulted by a mob on November 29, 2011, in the city of Bangalore. Although the local police were notified of the incident, they chose to defend the actions of the mob and arrest the four Witnesses.
The incident began when two of the women, who were sharing a peaceful message with one of their neighbors, were detained by an aggressive man. The man also detained another female Witness who was passing by and began accusing all three of the women of conversion. A mob gathered and seized all the religious magazines in the women’s bags. A male Witness, who was engaged in personal business nearby, was also threatened with being beaten if he did not join the three women being detained. The mob then called the police and forced the Witnesses to go to the police station.
At the station, the police deferred to the mob and filed a First Information Report against the Witnesses and even joined the attackers in insulting the Witnesses and their religion. When the male Witness insisted on filing a counter complaint, he was threatened with being stripped to his underwear and being put in a prison cell with the women. Later, one of the officers reluctantly accepted the complaint of the Witness, but refused to provide a written acknowledgment, violating standard procedure. All four Witnesses were arrested on charges of blasphemy and were released the same evening after securing bail.
