BENGALURU: Rachel Sangliana ’s claim that she was a victim of a racial attack Sunday last because of her northeastern roots, has begun to crumble, as CCTV footage has emerged showing her to be the aggressor. Very like the Rohtak sisters’ episode, where their brave claims of beating up molesters collapsed within days, the racial victim story of former Bengaluru city police commissioner HT Sangliana’s daughter, is also falling apart.

The Koramangala supermarket employees – where the attack happened -- say it was Rachel who started the argument first, slapped a burqa-clad woman and used provocative language against them, which made them retaliate.

When TOI visited the store, the employees reconstructed the sequence of events thus: “She (Rachel) was standing near the cash counter. The trolley pushed by one woman dashed her leg, to which she responded sharply. The woman apologized for the minor accident, but warned Rachel against the language she used. Rachel then started shouting, saying, ‘I need not learn lessons from you; go back either to Pakistan or Afghanistan’.”

It was at this point that the burqa-clad women retaliated by telling Rachel, “We are Indians, you go to China”, said supermarket sources. “CCTV footage clearly shows the entire episode, including Rachel raising her hand and slapping one woman,” sources added.

Rachel’s eloquent Facebook account of her ordeal at the store went viral and got her national media attention but she has so far refused to file a police complaint. The police wonder why. In fact, police say that she shouted at them because she believed they leaked news to the media about her being the aggressor. “In fact, we wanted her to file a police complaint. But she shouted at us,” police sources said.

When contacted, former top cop Sangliana told TOI they wouldn’t file a police complaint since it’s a “small incident”.

When told that CCTV footage shows his daughter raising her hand first and abusing the burqa-clad women, Sangliana said, “This CCTV footage seems to be bogus. My daughter objected to a man jumping the queue near the cash counter and the man returned with two burqa-clad women and attacked my daughter.”

“I never said we are targeted because we are northeastern people. I am a Kannadiga, always,” he said. Rachel couldn’t be contacted despite numerous calls and text messages.

Rachel claimed on Monday that two burqa-clad women attacked her on Sunday afternoon when she was shopping, and asked her to go to China.

The 34-year-old called dialled 100 to call the police but refused to lodge a complaint, saying, “We are friends now.”

But the episode went viral when Rachel posted a detailed account on Facebook and claimed she was a victim of racial attack.

