Judging the character of a woman or in a fit of rage for having an interfaith affair, either reasons, led to the gang rape of her by 7 men at a lodge in Karnataka’s Haveri district on January 8. The accused now face charges of gangrape based on the woman’s accusations. The men also recorded videos of the assault in order to blackmail the lady, which quickly spread online, grabbing the police’s attention.
When True To Life asked Additional Superintendant of Police, regarding updates about the case on Saturday, he said, “We have arrested three people, but they don’t have any criminal background, still we want to arrest four more, who are absconding. Then after arrest, if they have background then it will be updated.”
He explained the situation further, “The rickshaw man was there in rickshaw stand. These guys came for their other work, then he called muslim guys, when the muslim lady went inside with the other man. Then they called their friends.”
“As per our statement, these are all victim statements. Thats why we cannot question. She told all the things. The FIR now has rape charges also. The family is alright, she is also alright mentally and physically alright. In case they need any help or security from police, we will provide.”
True To Life reached out to Haveri Police Station for details, and officials stated, “The case is currently under investigation. A press note has been issued addressing the ongoing developments.” The authorities are actively pursuing the matter.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Haveri, confirmed to True To Life, that IPC Section 376D (gangrape) had been invoked against the accused, in addition to other charges.
The rape case was filed against the seven men after the woman who was in the room with her companion – alleged that the men later took her to a deserted place and took turns to rape her. The video was released by the woman yesterday. She alleged that after raping her in the forest, the attackers forced her into a car and drove her around the city. “The driver also raped me,” the woman said in the video.
According to the police statement, the woman, aged in her twenties, is married and originally hails from Uttara Kannada district. It was revealed that she was in a relationship with the man she had checked into the hotel with, and he is a resident of Shivamogga district, as per the authorities’ information.
The gang who arrived on three motorcycles drove the couple to an isolated place which was about a kilometer away from the hotel. Upon reaching there, they started thrashing the couple. They also abused the woman and hit her with sticks.
The hotel employee lodged the first complaint regarding the assault on January 10, leading the police to apply sections related to physical assault and violation of a woman’s modesty.
However, in a video that emerged on Thursday, the woman has alleged that she was gangraped. “I reached the lodge around 1 pm. A few minutes after I entered, many youths barged in and attacked us. They assaulted me and took me on a bike. I was taken to a forest and raped. I begged them to leave me but they did not pay any heed. Later, they dropped me near the bus stand and left. I want them to be punished,” she says in the video.
On Thursday evening, police recorded the woman’s statement. “The suspects were aware of the woman’s meeting, and followed her and the man to the room,” said an officer, adding that the videos were possibly recorded to blackmail the man and the woman and to ensure that she didn’t report the crime. This modus operandi has led police to believe they may have been involved in such crimes in the past too.
There can be two reasons now. Either the gang assaulted the couple, took her away and then raped her, solely because they got the oppurtunity, and the lady was in a vulnerable position. She was not with her husband. Otherwise, their reason was to teach the muslim lady a lesson. For being in an extra marital affair, more specifically, being in an extra marital affair with a hindu man. What is the meaning of gang raping a woman, then asking her to return to her native place after handing her a Rs. 500 note?
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Sources : Indian Express, NDTV
By Soujanya Das Roy
From Kolkata
Reporting for True To Life