Karnataka: Youth rapes woman, 5 aides thrash husband

A 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped in Gangavathi, Bengaluru on February 9. Police arrested the accused, and five others involved were also detained.

Bengaluru

All the accused have been sent to 14-day judicial custody (HT)

A 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped in Gangavathi on the night of February 9. Police said they arrested the accused the same night.

Police said the woman went from Bengaluru to Gangavathi to meet her husband. However, around 9.30pm, a domestic dispute ensued between the couple on a KSRTC bus stand. This attracted the attention of a group of six men who approached the couple under the guise of mediation. However, on the pretext of siding with the woman, some of them thrashed her husband. Meanwhile, Lingaraja approached the woman. Sensing foul intentions, she tried to escape but the 23-year-old youth followed her to a nearby park where he raped her.

The same night the woman approached Gangavathi police station and filed a complaint against the men.

“Soon after receiving the complaint, we swung into action and managed to arrest the accused the same night. While the prime accused has been booked under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code, his accomplices have been booked under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 149 (committing an offence with common intent by unlawful assembly), and 354 (outraging modesty of a woman),” said inspector Prakash Mali.

Meanwhile, the police sent the survivor to a government hospital for a medical examination, they said.

Police identified the other five accused as Maula Hussain, Shivakumar, Prashant, Mahesh, and Madesh, all aged between 20 and 25 years. They were produced in the city court on Sunday that sent them to 14-day judicial custody.