Merchant Navy man arrested in Bengaluru for raping nurse he met on Instagram: Report

According to Bengaluru police, the accused, Bilal Rafeeq, hails from Kozhikode in Kerala.

A 30-year-old man working in the merchant navy has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman after promising to marry her and coercing her into undergoing multiple abortions, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The Bengaluru police as booked Rafeeq under the Indian Penal Code (HT file photo)

According to the report, the accused, Bilal Rafeeq, hails from Kozhikode, Kerala. He was arrested after a nurse employed at a Bengaluru hospital filed a police complaint against him.

Abortions and assault

The woman met Rafeeq on Instagram in 2021, and the two soon began exchanging frequent phone calls, developing a relationship, as stated in the First Information Report (FIR). She also claimed that, despite her objections, they engaged in sexual activity, resulting in two pregnancies in 2022 and 2023. The woman alleges that Rafeeq coerced her into terminating both pregnancies, the report added.

She further alleged that Rafeeq repeatedly forced her into sexual intercourse while she was staying at a paying guest facility between February and April 2024, leading to a third pregnancy.

The Bengaluru police as booked Rafeeq under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Recently, the Bengaluru police lodged a first information report (FIR) against Dharwad Congress MLA and former minister Vinay Kulkarni for allegedly raping a 34-year-old woman based on a complaint from her. Kulkarni’s associate Arjun is a co-accused in the case. The woman, who describes herself as a social worker, filed a complaint against the two at the Sanjaynagar police station in Bengaluru.

However, Kulkarni has refuted the allegations and filed a counter-complaint, accusing the woman and Rakesh Shetty, the managing director of a private news channel which featured the woman’s allegations and a purported video evidence, of attempting to extort ₹2 crore from him.

The police have charged Kulkarni under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to rape (Section 376), criminal intimidation (Section 506), and kidnapping (Section 366), among others. The case also includes provisions under the Information Technology Act for transmitting obscene content electronically.

Another FIR has been registered based on Kulkarni’s complaint on charges of extortion.