Bengaluru/Hubballi, January 9, 2026 – Amid escalating political acrimony and mounting pressure from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Karnataka government is contemplating handing over the controversial Hubballi woman 'disrobing' case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for an impartial probe. The move, signaled late Thursday by Home Minister G. Parameshwara, comes as BJP leaders threaten statewide agitation, accusing the Congress dispensation of shielding "guilty" police officers and orchestrating a smear campaign against their activist. The saga, now in its ninth day, has morphed from a local arrest gone awry into a flashpoint for debates on women's safety, police accountability, and electoral vendettas ahead of municipal polls.
The epicenter remains the January 5 arrest of Sujata Handi, a 38-year-old BJP karyakarta from Chalukya Nagar in Hubballi, charged with attempted murder in connection with a January 1 clash during a SIR -led voter enumeration drive. The survey, ostensibly for updating electoral rolls in a Muslim-dominated area, spiraled into violence, with resident Prashanth Bommaji alleging Handi and associates assaulted him with sticks and stones, prompting three FIRs including rioting and promoting enmity. Handi, a recent Congress defector with nine prior cases – five in 2025 alone for assaults – was detained amid resistance, leading to the now-infamous viral video of her partially disrobed and distressed on a police bus teeming with over 20 officers.
BJP's outrage peaked with claims of "state-sponsored barbarism," likening the episode to the Mahabharata's disrobing of Draupadi and branding officers as "Dushasana." Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka's Thursday presser in Bengaluru set a 10 a.m. Friday deadline for suspensions, warning of Hubballi sieges and NHRC/NCW interventions. The National Commission for Women (NCW) swiftly demanded an action-taken report from Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Mohan within five days, directing an FIR and "thorough probe." Karnataka Mahila Morcha echoed calls for a judicial inquiry, with president Pushpa Amarnath alleging "Congress-sponsored goondaism" to intimidate defectors like Handi.
Complicating the saffron narrative, a counter-video emerged Wednesday showing Handi allegedly assaulting Bommaji with a stick during the survey, amassing over 1 million views and prompting Congress accusations of BJP hypocrisy. "They cry victim for a rowdy with a rap sheet, but silent on her brutality," sniped Youth Congress leader Rajat Ullagaddimath in a Friday briefing, linking the unrest to Hubballi MLA Mahesh Tenginakai's "electoral sabotage" via SRS proxies. The plot thickened with an FIR against Congress corporator Suvarna Kallakuntla – the survey's alleged obstructer – and eight others for rioting and assault; she was arrested Thursday but hospitalized at KIMS Hubballi for "hypertension," her counsel decrying "political victimization."
Into this maelstrom stepped Parameshwara, addressing the din during a routine assembly session adjournment. "The government takes the allegations seriously. Given the sensitivity and political overtones, we're evaluating a CID transfer to ensure transparency and rule out bias," he told reporters, emphasizing an internal departmental inquiry was already underway at Keshwapur station under Commissioner Renuka Sukumar. Sources in the Home Department revealed deliberations with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who – despite initial comments blaming Handi's "self-disrobing" – now favors escalation to defuse the crisis. "CID's involvement would neutralize BJP's 'cover-up' cries and align with NCW directives," a senior official confided, noting precedents like the 2024 Hubballi student murder handover.
The proposal has split reactions. BJP's Tenginakai, wrapping a subdued Friday protest outside Keshwapur – where over 200 saffron activists courted arrest – dismissed it as a "smokescreen." "CID under Congress? It's like wolves guarding sheep. We demand a sitting High Court judge-led probe, not this charade," he thundered, flanked by Mayor Jyoti Patil and Deputy Mayor Santosh Chavan. MP Prahlad Joshi amplified on X: "Mulling CID after days of denial? Too little, too late. Suspend the 20 officers first – justice delayed is justice denied." Ashoka, en route to Hubballi for weekend escalations, hinted at a "Dharna Yatra" if CID nods fall short, tying it to broader "anti-women" patterns under Siddaramaiah, from Belagavi assaults to Mysuru rapes.
Congress, sensing momentum, parried with restraint. Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, accused by Ashoka of meddling in police meets, urged "facts over frenzy" in a terse statement: "Let probes unfold without theatrics. Handi's video shows aggression, not victimhood – truth will prevail." Ullagaddimath's media huddle painted the BJP as "defaming cops to shield their thug," demanding scrutiny of Handi's "imported" aggression from Congress days and SRS funding. The Karnataka State Women's Commission, preliminarily endorsing police self-defense claims, expanded its review to encompass the assault footage, eyeing a Monday report that could sway CID timelines.
As Friday's sun set over Hubballi's tense lanes – patrolled by additional forces amid SRS counter-demonstrations – the case's undercurrents laid bare Karnataka's polarized fault lines. Communal whispers linger: the survey's minority-area focus fueling "vote-bank engineering" barbs, while Handi's custody in Belagavi Prison draws family pleas for medical checks. Victims like Bommaji, bandaged but vocal, seek "equal justice," his FIR a quiet counterpoint to the din.
Legal eagles predict a CID greenlight by Sunday, potentially involving forensic video analysis and witness polygraphs to dissect the bus-bound chaos. Yet, with polls looming, the probe risks becoming another arena for partisan slugfest. "This isn't just about one woman's dignity; it's a referendum on who safeguards it – the state or the street?" mused activist Nagamma @Meena, protesting solo in Bengaluru. For Handi, whose brother Maria Das vows "fight till exoneration," the scales tip precariously. In Karnataka's sweltering January, the only certainty is heat – political, prosecutorial, and profoundly human.
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