Police detain six for molestations

NEW DELHI (AP):

Police in the southern Indian city of Bangalore detained at least six suspects Wednesday after several women said they were groped and molested during New Year's Eve celebrations in the city that is the country's information technology hub.

City police first denied that any sexual harassment had taken place during the late-night celebrations. But on Wednesday, police officer Hemant Nimbalkar said at least six men were detained after several video clips of women being attacked by groups of men spread on social media.

The incident highlights the persistent violence against women in India despite tougher laws against sexual assault imposed after the December 2012 death of a young woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi.

One senior state government minister said the New Year's incidents took place because the women were acting like Westerners, implying that their attire had provoked the attacks.

The police had earlier said that no one had come forward to file a complaint about the incidents.

Since then, at least one woman has come forward to speak of how she was molested on Saturday night. Others have said that they saw women being molested or groped, and that revellers were making lewd remarks, even as the state government said that more than 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds.