BENGALURU: A day after a large number of women were allegedly molested by mobs on MG Road and Brigade Road in the heart of Bengaluru while ringing in the New Year, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara responded by saying “these kinds of things do happen”. Police, too, said women are often molested during such celebrations and no case had been registered as complainants hadn’t come forward.Reacting to the incidents, Parameshwara blithely told a TV channel on Monday: “In events like New Year or Christmas Day, there are women who are harassed or treated badly. We take precautionary measures. But unfortunately, on days like New Year, a large number of youngsters gather on Brigade Road, Commercial Street and MG Road. And youngsters are almost like westerners. They try to copy the west, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing. So some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen.”He said 1,500 police personnel had been deployed in the area. Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said: “There are all kinds of people from different states and different cultures. We can’t say you have to only behave like this, you have to dress like Kannadigas. Night life is regulated every day but on a day like New Year’s or Christmas, definitely it has to have a different approach. Now we will look into this.”The comments drew much flak as he shifted the blame on to women rather than on poor intelligence and policing. Bengaluru police admitted they had helped women in distress on the night of December 31-January 1 but said they had not received specific complaints. They said they are sifting through CCTV footage to identify culprits.A woman said: “I saw a woman shouting for help and another who took off her heels to protect herself. You can fight back if one or two people are trying to molest you, but when it is a mob how do you fight back?”