Mysuru police rejects media reports on sexual molestation during Dasara festival

Mysuru, Oct 17: The Mysuru police on Wednesday rejected media reports of incidents of sexual molestation at Open Street Festival (part of the 409th Dasara), as saying no such incident took place.

It was earlier reported that an event during the ongoing Dasara festivities turned into a nightmare for several women who complained of being stalked, sexually harassed and molested.

Several women took to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share their experiences during an event of the 'Open Street Festival' held at the Krishnaraja Boulevard.

The incidents reportedly occurred on Monday when a large crowd, consisting of locals and tourists, gathered to witness the cultural events organised as part of the street festival.

"It was very disgusting and very irritating. Some boys came drunk and they were coming near us and falling on us. One girl raised her voice to send that group out but our Mysore boys are really unfit. They didn't even support that girl. It's very shameful, very shameful #MeToo," a woman tweeted.

Speaking on media reports of incidents of sexual molestation at Open Street Festival (part of the 409th Dasara), Mysuru police commissioner said,''No such incidents took place and there were no complaints. There were enough police personnel deployed to take care of the situation.''

The Mysuru incident comes as a grim reminder of the New Year revelry in Bengaluru last year that turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering in the city's downtown region, drawing widespread outrage.