The Bangalore South police have been up against it in the case of alleged racial abuse against former police commissioner H T Sangliana's daughter Rachel. The two women who allegedly abused and assaulted her were wearing burkas, and establishing their identity has become an almost insurmountable task. But not to be deterred, city police have been busy distributing CCTV grabs of two women, wearing burkas, to masjids and other community centres in the hope that they may glean some information on their identities. The big clue is that the woman were wearing "silk burkas"!
On December 7, 2014, around 3 pm, 34-year-old Rachel, a resident of Viveknagar was out grocery shopping at a supermarket opposite Adugodi police station when a man and his wife reportedly tried to elbow their way into the checkout queue.
Rachel alleges that when she politely asked the couple to return to the rear of the queue, the woman started spewing curses at her in Urdu and then assaulted her with the help of another woman, also burka clad. A day later, Rachel lodged an FIR.
CCTV footage from the supermarket was examined but the women simply could not be identified.
"We are confused. We don't know what we can do to catch these women. Both are wearing burkas and the man's face is not visible. We can only see the eyes of the women. It's not like we can start checking the eyes of all women wearing a burka. So our policemen are visiting masjids, Muslim gathering places, etc and showing them CCTV grabs of two burka-clad women. We strongly feel that if these two women have come buy things here in Koramangala, then they may stay nearby. We really don't how much it will help us and for me the way we are investigating looks very funny," a senior police officer, who is part of the investigation, said.
DCP South, B S Lokesh Kumar agreed that the police were facing difficulties investigating the case. "Our team is visiting all these places with the grabs. As we don't have clear photographs, it's becoming difficult. But, we are trying many angles and will find them soon," the DCP said. The police also feel a little awkward asking people in masjids and other places whether they can recognize people from a CCTV grab that shows no features other than the eyes.
"It's funny but it also embarrasses us. The people we ask laugh, and we laugh too. How can one identify these people. So, we are also going to shops selling burkas and asking them. We are also looking at the slippers they are wearing and any other visible items of clothing," an investigating sub-inspector said.