A 17-year-old girl was raped by two autorickshaw drivers on the pretext of helping her and was kept in confinement for 46 days here. She is a resident of Bengaluru and was pursuing first-year Pre- University Course in Kolar. The police have arrested four persons on charges of wrongful confinement of the victim while Shahrukh and Toufiq, the main accused, are at large.
Superintendent of Police Abhinav Khare told presspersons that owing to differences with her mother, the girl had left her house on September 7 and had come to Shivamogga city in the evening by boarding a train. At Shivamogga railway station, on seeing her weeping, Shahrukh, an autorickshaw driver, promised to offer refuge in his house and took her to Sakrebailu village with his friends Toufiq and Amzad.
The girl told the police that Shahrukh and Toufiq raped her at an vacant site on the outskirts of Sakrebailu. The accused spent the night with the girl at the house of Amzad in Sakrebailu. The next day, they shifted her to the house of Parveen Banu, sister of Amzad, at Imam Bada locality in the city.
Mr. Khare said that, acting on a tip-off, the police raided the house and rescued the girl. She is with Santhwana Centre run by the Department of Women and Child Welfare at present. Medical examination has proved that she was raped, he said.
Based on the statements of the victim, the police have booked a case under section 342(wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code against Amzad, Parveen Banu, her husband Mohammed Yusuf and Mubarak, a relative. All the four have been arrested.
Cases have been booked under section 376 (rape) and 370 (sexual exploitation) of IPC and under various sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against Shahrukh and Toufiq. A manhunt has been launched to nab them.
BJP leaders’ demand
Meanwhile, a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders comprising Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, K.S. Eshwarappa, MLC M.B. Bhanuprakash, ex-MP Ayanur Manjunath, and ex-MLC R.K. Siddaramanna met Mr. Khare on Monday and demanded immediate arrest of the accused.
Mr. Siddaramanna told presspersons later that as the involvement of some more persons is suspected in the case, a thorough probe should be conducted to arrest all the perpetrators.
Condemning the incident, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has called for a protest in the city on October 26.
