BENGALURU: The recent cases like the one in

, where a woman and her brother-in-law fabricated a molestation tale for personal reason, and a Facebook post by a techie accusing a bus conductor of harassment are not stray incidents, statistics with

show.

About 151 of the 2,190 complaints of molestation filed with city police from 2014 to 2016 were found to be fake. Most of them were result of personal rivalry, job-related issues and family disputes, officers said.

The techie, who on January 10 posted on her Facebook that a BMTC bus conductor and male passengers had allegedly tried to molest her, later took a U-turn when police sought her statement to follow up the case.

According to investigating officers, 120 molestation cases fell flat when the complainants backed out when they were asked to make statement under

, which is a mandatory in sexual assault cases. In the remaining 31 cases, the complainants themselves confessed that their allegations were not true and they wished to close the case.

“A woman from northeast Bengaluru had filed a molestation case against her house owner. We later found that the 45-year-old was emotionally attached to the house and was not willing to move out. The owner wanted a higher rent and asked her to vacate it when she refused to pay. After a verbal altercation, the woman filed a complaint saying the 65- year-old owner had pulled her hands and tried to molest her,” sources said.

However, police admit that not all cases where the complainants had backtracked could be termed fake. “They may back out because of the fear of ‘taint’ or pressure from family. But we have no go but to file a B report, which means it is a false complaint or a such an incident had not taken place at all, once the complainants don’t persist with their charges,” a senior officer said.

They pointed out that the KG Halli incident is a perfect example of how ulterior motives spark fake complaints. A 23-year-old woman’s complaint that she was attacked by a man earlier this month resulted in police arresting her brother-in-law. “The accused wanted to marry the woman and told her to feign being a molestation victim. He thought the taint would ensure no one would marry her and he could then convince their families to accept their relationship,” police said.