Those who had encroachers upon a piece of land are said to have partially disrobed a woman and assaulted her son for asking them to move out of the land in Ainapur village near Athani in Belagavi district.
The incident came to light after pictures and videos of the woman and her son were shared on some social media handles on Wednesday.
The video, however, is over a year old, the police said.
“It was shot by a family member of the woman when the offence occurred last year,” a police officer said. It was shared by some villagers on Wednesday.
Kagwad Police have registered a case under IPC 354 on the charge of outraging the modesty of a woman and other relevant provisions.
The woman’s family members told reporters that three farmers Subhash Danolli, Suresh Danolli and Mayappa Haliyal had encroached upon half-an-acre of land belonging to Ramanna Naganur, a marginal farmer in Ainapur.
He was cultivating around 2.5 acres of land granted to him by the State government, since 1991. But the powerful farmers encroached upon half-an-acre belonging to him, the woman said in a complaint to the police.
When the victims went to the encroachers and asked them to move out of the land, they abused them and attacked them, the complaint said.
“They wanted to teach us a lesson by beating and insulting us. That is why they assaulted the boy and partially disrobed the woman,” the victim’s relatives told reporters.
“A few months ago, Ramanna Naganur’s daughter complained to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against encroachment. District administration officials promised to survey the land, but it was not done,” the woman told the police.
Additional Superintendent of Police S.N. Shruti and other officers visited the spot.
Tahsildar S.B. Ingale has assured the family that the land will be surveyed and a report submitted to the Deputy Commissioner soon. Survey will start immediately, he told reporters.
Member of Legislative Assembly Raju Kage said that he has spoken to senior revenue and police officers and instructed them to ensure that justice is done.
