Bengaluru: Moral policing by religious groups is on the rise in Karnataka. While a few right wing Hindu organisations have been at it for a while, their Muslim counterparts have now entered the scene.

A Facebook group, Muslim Defense Force (MSD), with members drawn predominantly from Mangaluru, declared over Wednesday and Thursday , "If we see non- Muslims talking to our girls we will break their bones."

The page is rapidly getting popular with even a few students from Bengaluru joining the group. A concerned Mangaluru police has now sought legal opinion on taking suo motto action against the FB group.

Surfacing on Wednesday, the group had 90 members joining it in one day, according to FB regulars.

“Only those with Muslim names are allowed to join it. Warnings are issued to Muslim girl students against visiting malls, skipping classes and so on. The statements are scary,” said Mr. Ravi Shankar, who shared the posts published by the group.

Another FB user, who was a member of the group, but quit it, said every anti- Muslim, anti-woman post is liked by hundreds of members at a time. “Posts are predominantly from colleges in coastal Karnataka. But some from Bengaluru and Mysuru too are active in the group,” he said.