Three arrested for gangrape, blackmail of college student in Bengaluru
Ramanagara (Karnataka) (PTI): Three men have been arrested for allegedly gangraping a 19-year-old college student and blackmailing her using a video of the assault, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred in October at the house of one of the accused in Magadi taluk of Bengaluru South district, they added.
Of the three accused, two are college students, while the third is an electrician by profession, police said.
According to police, the woman came into contact with the prime accused, also a college student, around six to seven months ago.
He befriended her, gained her confidence, and later entered into a relationship with her after promising marriage.
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On the pretext of the relationship, he allegedly established a physical relationship with her and secretly recorded the act on his mobile phone without her knowledge.
He later showed the video to his friends, who are co-accused in the case, a senior police officer said.
In October, the prime accused allegedly threatened and blackmailed the woman using the video clip of their intimate moments and forced her to comply with his demands.
He then allegedly sexually assaulted her along with the other two accused. The assault was also recorded, police said.
The video was later circulated on WhatsApp by one of the accused, they added.
Unable to bear the harassment, the victim informed her parents and approached the police.
Based on her complaint, a case was registered on December 17 at the Magadi police station under Sections 64 (rape), 70 (gangrape) and 71 (punishment for repeat offenders) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.
Bengaluru South District Superintendent of Police Srinivas Gowda said all three accused were arrested.
"Two of them are students, and one is employed. All three were known to the victim and had been acquainted with her for more than a couple of months," he said.
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Bengaluru: Woman techie dies by suicide after son drowns
Bengaluru (PTI): A 29-year-old tech professional has allegedly died by suicide after her 11-month-old son was suspected to have accidentally drowned in a bucket of water at their residence here, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred on April 1 within the limits of the Chandra layout Police Station, they said.
Police said a letter written in English by the woman was found near the bed, in which she stated that their son had fallen into water and died and that she could not save him, and sought forgiveness.
The matter came to light after the woman's husband, Mahantesh Wali, an engineer, filed a complaint with the police, officials said.
The couple had been living in a rented house for the past four years, and they had a 11-month-old son, Agasthya, they added.
According to the complaint, Pratibha Wali was employed at a tech company near Silk Board and had been working from home.
On April 1, at around 9 am, Mahantesh left for work while his wife and child remained at home. At around 6.30 pm, when he returned and knocked on the door, there was no response. He tried calling his wife on her mobile phone, but she did not answer.
He then retrieved a spare key kept near a window, opened the door and entered the house. On checking the room, he found his wife had allegedly hanged herself by tying a saree to a cradle hook. He also noticed a cut on her left wrist and blood stains, a senior police officer said.
Their son Agasthya was found lying on the bed, and when he checked, the child was also dead, the officer said.
An empty strip of 15 tablets was also recovered from the spot, and it is suspected that the woman may have consumed the tablets, police said.
Prima facie, it appears that the infant strayed into the bathroom and fell into a bucket filled with water while the woman was away, seemingly gone to the terrace to dry the clothes. It appears that the woman, distressed over the death of her son, died by suicide, police said.
However, the husband has expressed suspicion regarding the deaths and sought legal action. Further investigation is underway, police added.
