Two persons were arrested for allegedly raping two girls belonging to a Scheduled Tribe at a village in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district on Monday.
According to the district police, the two accused had been identified as Vinod and Prajeet, both about 21 years.
Vinod and Prajeet are relatives and own an autorickshaw. They used to occasionally take the two girls, both sisters, aged 18 and 16 years, in autorickshaw from their (girls’) house to a cashew factory about six kilometres away, for the last one-and-a-half years. During this period, they developed a physical relationship with them.
Both Vinod and Prajeet promised to marry the girls, then minors, and later went back on their word.
A case has been registered under Sections 376 and 417 of IPC, the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on a complaint given by the mother of the two girls at Kollur police station and further investigations were on, the police said.
Children injured in bus accident
At least 10 people, of whom seven are schoolchildren, sustained injuries after a speeding bus rammed into a bus stop at Perne near Uppinangady here on Monday evening.
Around 4.30 p.m., the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus headed towards Kukke Subramanya from the city, attempted to overtake another bus, lost control over the vehicle and crashed into the small bus shelter, the police said.
Hemanth (15), Soyabba (15), Meenakshi (30), Shanku (45), Aashiqui (9), Irshad (15), Nishmita (16), Vinuta (16), Mohammad Naufal (15) and Mohammad (40), who were all waiting for a bus, suffered injuries.
While most have minor injuries or injuries to the leg, Mohammad, who stays in Kedila, has been admitted to a private hospital in the city with serious injuries.
The children study in Sri Ram School nearby, and were returning home after school. Puttur Traffic Police said a case of rash, negligent driving had been booked against the KSRTC bus driver, who had absconded.
Man kills self
A daily-wage worker hanged himself at his residence in Kariragala village in Bantwal taluk on Monday morning. The police said Babu Poojary (45), an alcoholic, hanged himself around 10.30 a.m.
After having run away with another man in April earlier this year, Babu’s wife Mohini and her lover consumed poison in a lodge room in Mysore.
While her lover survived, Mohini died, and this had sent Mr. Poojary into depression, the police said. Their three children – all aged under 12 – are now with his mother-in-law.
