34-yr-old was violently punched, kicked and abused by two women while shopping

Even supercop and former city police commissioner H T Sangliana's daughter, Rachel, is not immune to racial abuse, as she found out first-hand on Sunday afternoon. The victim was allegedly assaulted, pushed, and racially abused by two women at a supermarket when she objected to their cutting her off in the queue.

Around 3 pm, the 34-year-old mother of two and resident of Viveknagar was out grocery shopping at a reputed supermarket opposite the Adugodi police station when a man and his wife reportedly tried to elbow their way into a queue leading to the checkout.
When Rachel politely asked the couple to join the queue at the back because she had to get home to attend to her ailing child, the woman reportedly began spewing curses and abuses in Urdu about Rachel to her husband.

"I could understand what the woman was saying from the dirty looks she kept giving me, and because Urdu is similar to Hindi. She emphasised that we 'outsiders' were ruining the country and that we 'deserved to be taught a lesson', recalled a shocked Rachel, speaking to Bangalore Mirror. She then asked the woman if she had a problem with her. "Her response was to scream 'yes' and proceed to hit me in the chest. She then began yelling that I should 'go back to China' and that I didn't belong in India."

Even as Rachel defended herself saying she was an Indian who was born and raised in Bengaluru, a heated altercation is said to have ensued. When the woman began pushing Rachel, the latter hit her back in self-defence.

"It was a crowded Sunday afternoon at the supermarket and there were nearly 50-odd people just standing and staring. It was only after 7-10 minutes that a few store employees and some girls came to my rescue. I immediately took out my phone and called my husband, who told me to call the police," said Rachel.

While she was on the phone, another woman who was apparently known to the first, came up to the victim and asked if she was the one involved in the scuffle.

"I ignored her and continued my phone call, but to my shock, she began violently abusing, kicking, and punching me too. Out of nowhere, the first woman came back and joined in. They grabbed my hair and pulled out clumps of it, injuring my scalp. By then, I had dialled 100 and informed the police, but it was three girls from Nagaland and two other shoppers who came to my rescue and broke up the catfight. In a heartening show of solidarity, the girls refused to leave my side until my husband arrived," the victim added.

By the time the police arrived, however, there was no sign of the burkha-clad women, tho-ugh shoppers said they had seen the duo waiting to perhaps ambush Rachel outside the building.

When contacted, the Adugodi poli-ce confirmed the incident. "We received a call from the control room saying a woman had called 100 to complain she was being attacked. We rushed to the supermarket but found no sign of the suspects. When we reviewed the CCTV footage of the incident, we realised that the images of the women who attacked the victim were unclear since both were wearing burkhas," a police official said. However, police have taken printouts of the images and are investigating further. Police say since the case is still in its preliminary stages and both parties involved are women, they will be able to reach a conclusion after listening to both sides, provided they identify the two women.

Cops maintained they would also be taking statements of some shoppers and supermarket employees who reportedly witnessed the attack. Rachel, meanwhile, is nursing a bruised chest and scalp, and trying to recover from the distressing episode which she claims is a nasty first of its kind.

Reacting to the incident, Rachel's si-ster, Rebecca, posted on a social netwo-rking site, "Some day people will realise that we all bleed the same colour, our hearts beat in the same rhythm, and we all feel pain and joy the same; regardless of the colour of our skin, facial features or religion. Breaks my heart that you had to go through that, Rachel. She surely messed with the wrong person! Love you very much!"