By IANS,
Bangalore : Sri Rama Sene president Pramod Muthalik and 27 Sene activists arrested for last week’s attack on women in a Mangalore pub were Saturday released on bail.
A Mangalore court granted them bail with conditions including one that says they should report to the Mangalore North police station once a fortnight.
Prasad Attavar, vice president of the Karnataka Sri Rama Sene, also got bail.
The Sene had claimed ‘credit’ for the Jan 24 attack by about 40 men who slapped, abused, pushed, pulled hair and molested several young women at Amnesia – The Lounge on Balmatta Road in the centre of Mangalore, about 350 km from here.
Muthalik and Attavar did not take part in the attack but had defended it saying the women were “violating traditional Indian values”.
Attavar and 26 others were arrested two days after the incident and Muthalik three days back.
Muthalik was also questioned Saturday by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra on his alleged links with a bombing in Malegaon town of that neighbouring state on Sep 29.
Talking to reporters before he was granted bail, Muthalik denied he had links with the key accused in the Malegaon incident. He said he will convey this to the ATS team from Mumbai which arrived in Mangalore Friday.
Attavar told reporters after getting bail that the Sene was happy that its action had brought country-wide publicity. “Our popularity will increase because of this and there will be opposition to the growth of pub-culture in all states.”
The attackers have been charged with outraging the modesty of women, assault, criminal conspiracy and unlawful assembly.