Hubballi, January 9, 2026 – A fresh viral video has dramatically shifted the narrative in the explosive Hubballi police brutality controversy, thrusting BJP's moral high ground into question just as the party ramps up demands for a judicial probe into the alleged stripping of its woman activist. The footage, circulating widely on social media since Thursday morning, depicts Sujata Handi – the same BJP worker arrested on January 5 for attempted murder – allegedly mercilessly beating a man during the initial clash that sparked the entire episode. As top BJP leaders like R. Ashoka, Mahesh Tenginakai, and MP Prahlad Joshi face accusations of hypocrisy for their fervent defense of Handi as a victim of "state-sponsored assault," Congress has fired back, booking local corporator Suvarna Kallakuntla in a counter-FIR while alleging a BJP-orchestrated smear campaign to defame the ruling party.
The original incident unfolded on January 1 in Chalukya Nagar, Hubballi, during a contentious voter list revision survey organized by the Sri Ram Sene (SRS), a right-wing Hindu outfit. What began as a routine enumeration exercise – aimed at mapping residences and updating electoral rolls – quickly devolved into chaos, with arguments escalating into physical altercations. Resident Prashanth Bommaji, a local, filed an FIR accusing Handi and others of attempted murder, claiming she and her associates attacked him with sticks and stones after he questioned the survey's legitimacy in his Muslim-majority neighborhood. Three FIRs were lodged in total, including charges of rioting and promoting enmity, setting the stage for Handi's dramatic arrest four days later.
Handi's apprehension by Keshwapur police on January 5 ignited statewide outrage when a video surfaced showing her partially disrobed and in apparent distress aboard a police bus crammed with over 20 officers, including male constables. BJP leaders swiftly condemned it as a "barbaric disrobing" reminiscent of the Mahabharata's Draupadi episode, with Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka labeling Chief Minister Siddaramaiah a "blind Dhritarashtra" and vowing protests unless the officers were suspended by Friday morning. Hubballi MLA Mahesh Tenginakai decried the force's "inhuman bias" toward Congress affiliates, while Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi penned letters to the National Commission for Women (NCW), demanding immediate intervention. The NCW responded by seeking a detailed action-taken report from Karnataka police within five days.
Police, however, maintained that Handi – who faces nine prior cases, including multiple assaults – resisted arrest violently, attacking four female constables, biting Sub-Inspector Kalavati, and disrobing herself to create a scene and evade custody. Commissioner N. Shashikumar released a counter-video purportedly showing Handi removing her own clothes en route to the station, insisting locals and officers clothed her promptly. Handi, remanded to judicial custody, remains in Belagavi Central Prison, her family alleging ongoing harassment.
Enter the new viral video, which has garnered over 500,000 views across platforms like X and Instagram within hours of surfacing late Wednesday. Clocking 45 seconds, the grainy clip – apparently filmed by a bystander during the January 1 survey clash – captures Handi, clad in a saffron shawl, repeatedly striking a man (believed to be complainant Prashanth Bommaji) with a stick while hurling abuses. The man, seen cowering and pleading, sustains visible blows to his back and arms before bystanders intervene. BJP supporters initially dismissed it as "fabricated Congress propaganda," but unverified timestamps align it with the survey date, corroborated by eyewitness accounts in the original FIR.
The footage has left BJP's top brass scrambling. Ashoka, who on Thursday thundered against the "collapse of women's dignity under Congress rule," was evasive when confronted by reporters outside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. "This video changes nothing; the police brutality stands," he insisted, but sources within the party reveal internal debates on whether to temper support for Handi, a recent defector from Congress with a history of street agitations. Tenginakai, leading Friday's planned siege of Keshwapur station, doubled down: "Even if she fought back, it doesn't justify the state's vengeance. BJP stands with every karyakarta facing tyranny." Yet, Joshi, known for his measured rhetoric, issued a cryptic X post: "Justice must be blind – to videos or vendettas. Full probe needed, not selective outrage." Party insiders whisper of a potential distancing if the video's authenticity holds, especially as Handi's nine prior cases – five from 2025 alone for assaults – resurface in public discourse.
Compounding the saffron embarrassment, the plot thickened with action against Congress corporator Suvarna Kallakuntla, the alleged flashpoint of the survey skirmish. Kallakuntla, a Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) member representing a nearby ward, was named in Handi's brother Maria Das's complaint for "repeated harassment" of the family and obstructing the SRS drive. On Thursday evening, Keshwapur police registered an FIR against Kallakuntla and eight others under IPC sections for rioting, assault, and obstructing public servants – mirroring charges against Handi. After going absconding post-arrest warrant, Kallakuntla was taken into custody late Thursday but was immediately admitted to KIMS Hospital in Hubballi citing "sudden ill health" and high blood pressure, her lawyer confirmed. "She's stable but under observation; this is political victimization," the advocate told media outside the facility. Police sources indicated she could be produced in court Saturday, pending medical clearance.
Congress has seized the moment to counterattack, framing the episode as a BJP "honeytrap" to tarnish the government ahead of local polls. In a fiery media briefing at the Hubballi District Congress office Friday noon, Youth Congress leader Rajat Ullagaddimath – a vocal Dharwad Rural block president and vocal critic of saffron "voter manipulation" tactics – accused Tenginakai of masterminding the survey as a pretext to incite violence and defame Congress. "The BJP MLA is the puppeteer here, deploying rowdy elements like Handi – a serial offender they conveniently 'recruited' from our ranks – to stage this drama. Now, with her assault video exposed, they're squirming. This isn't about women's safety; it's electoral sabotage," Ullagaddimath charged, flanked by Mahila Congress activists protesting outside. He demanded a probe into the SRS survey's funding and Tenginakai's role, alleging it violated election codes by targeting minority areas. Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar echoed the sentiment on X, calling for "truth over theatrics."
As the dust settles uneasily, the Karnataka State Women's Commission – which preliminarily backed police on the stripping claims – has expanded its remit to review the new video, promising a report by Monday. BJP's statewide protests proceeded as planned Friday, with hundreds marching to Keshwapur station, though turnout was muted compared to initial hype. Handi's family, undeterred, reiterated calls for her release, with brother Maria Das telling IANS that the beating clip was "self-defense against Kallakuntla's goons."
This multi-layered saga – blending gender justice cries, communal undercurrents, and raw political jockeying – underscores deepening fissures in Karnataka's polarized landscape. With both sides digging in, the courts may yet untangle the web, but for now, Hubballi's streets pulse with the rhythm of recrimination, where every video is a weapon and every accusation a shield. As one protester quipped amid the chants: "In politics, the only thing stripped bare is the truth."
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