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17-year-old dies by suicide following sexual abuse
The girl was found hanging from a tree in a forested area near her house. During investigation, police found a death note in which she mentioned the name of Sridhar Puranik. In the letter she wrote that she was taking the extreme step because of the sexual abuse she faced
Bengaluru:
Dakshina Kannada police have arrested a 68-year-old man for sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl, leading to her death by suicide, officials involved in the probe said.
The accused was a retired employee of a college where she was studying and the owner of the house where the girl’s parents were employed.
The police, withholding the identity of the victim, said the girl was a native of Udupi district and a first-year commerce student in a pre-university college.
On Wednesday, the girl was found hanging from a tree in a forested area near her house. During investigation, police found a death note in which she mentioned the name of Sridhar Puranik. In the letter she wrote that she was taking the extreme step because of the sexual abuse she faced.
A senior police officer monitoring the investigation said that on Tuesday, the girl had attended college but during the day, she had reported severe ear pain. “The college authorities informed her parents, who were then working at Puranik’s house. They requested him (Puranik) to pick her up from the college and he agreed. As he was bringing her back in his car, he sexually abused her,” the officer said.
Distraught by this incident, she went to a forested area near her aunt’s house on Wednesday and hanged herself from a tree.
“Since she is a minor, we have registered a case under Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and a case of abetment to suicide under the IPC. Since the girl is a Dalit, we have registered a case under the SC/ST Act as well. We have arrested the accused and produced him before the court. He has been sent to judicial custody,” the officer added.
