The Bengaluru City Police have traced the woman from Bangladesh, who was tortured and sexually assaulted, to Kerala and brought her back to the city on Friday. Special teams had been formed to find her after a video clip of the incident, which happened in Bengaluru, went viral on social media.
Six people — four men and two women — have been arrested. The young woman, believed to be in her 20s, had not only been tortured and raped, but was also being blackmailed by the gang who threatened to upload the video on social media if she did not pay them, said senior police officials.
The victim, who was reportedly running a massage parlour in Kozhikode, underwent a medical examination in the city on Friday night. The police are yet to question her, sources said.
Two of the arrested were shot at in the leg when they allegedly tried to attack the police and tried to flee during the crime scene reconstruction early on Friday. The police fired three rounds — one in the air and two at the accused, reportedly in self defence.
The two — Ridoy Babu, 26, and Sadar, 23, — are recovering at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.
Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said that one of the woman arrested is a distant relative of the victim and the wife of another accused. The two women were in the house when the victim was sexually abused and brutalised and they allegedly egged on the men and assisted them.
“All the six hail from Bangladesh and are part of the same group. They brutalised the victim over financial differences,” a statement from the city police said. It is yet to be ascertained whether the accused and the victim have valid travel documents, sources said.
The case received wide attention across South Asia, prompting Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai to personally monitor the case, sources said.
Mr. Yediyurappa termed the crime “a brutal inhuman act” which the government will not tolerate. “Those who have perpetrated this crime have already been arrested and the State will ensure they will get the most stringent punishment,” he said.
All the six accused have been remanded into 14-day police custody.
