Mangaluru: We Were Confused, We Were In India Or Pakistan – Soumya, Ulaibettu Assault Victim

Mangaluru: The victims of the Ulaibettu assault case held a press meet at the Woodlands Hotel here, on December 11.

Speaking to the mediapersons, Gangadhar, one of the victim, said that they were upset by the press release issued by the ‘Ulaibettu Nagarika Hitarakshana Vedike’ which was published in the city dailies dated 11 December 2015.

“It is very sad that Moideen Bava has given such a statement. Inspector Pramod Kumar protected us and gave us a ray of hope. But now there seems to be a conspiracy against him and Abubaker is being protected,” Gangadhar said.

Soumya said that they had never heard of a Nagarika Samiti before. It had been “created” after the incident to protect the accused. “During the attack, we were confused if we were in India or Pakistan,” she said. She also said that during the assault, the attackers did not show any mercy towards women. “No leaders had given their statement when the incident had happened but they are quick in giving statements when the accused are being arrested,” she added.

Soumya’s mother Yashoda said, “We are scared to come out of the safety of our homes. We were in an auto rickshaw on 5 December 2014 when a group of hundreds attacked us. Abubaker Siddique is the prime accused. He was the one who was wielding a sword in his hands and had assaulted a young woman. We only know him by his name and can identify him if we see him again in person. We do not know his father’s name, as there are several people in Ulaibettu with the same name or they have a different alias. Abubaker Siddique and rest of the accused should be tried and punished according to the law. Peace should be restored in and around Ulaibettu.”

Manoj Kumar another victim said, “When we lodged a complaint against Abubaker, we had given his father’s name in the complaint. The Nagarika Samiti is now arguing that no such family existed. This might have happened as there are many people in Ulaibettu named as Abubaker Siddique and we might have given a wrong name in confusion.”