BENGALURU: In a strange case, a rape accused who violated a minor for about six months, became a complainant alleging abduction and assault by the minor’s relatives. But probe into both the cases revealed the victimisation of the minor, landing the rape accused in the jail. The 24-year-old rape accused was allegedly attracted to the 12-year-old girl studying in the 7th Std, and repeatedly raped her over the past six months.
The arrested youth has been identified as Shivaraj Kumar, a resident of Banashankari and native of Kalaburagi. Kumar, an employee of a garment outlet on Outer Ring Road in Banashankari, stayed with his two friends in a rented house. According to police, he befriended the girl two years ago when she was just ten and studying in the 5th Std.
He allegedly used to lure her with some valuables and invite her to his house to play carom, and the girl often went to his house. Six months ago, Kumar took her to his house and allegedly raped her, following which he threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed it to anyone. Since then he used to take her to his house during her holidays and also when her parents were not at home.
On learning about Kumar’s deeds, four of the girl’s male relatives went to Kumar’s house around 4 am on June 22 and abducted him and his two friends in a car and drove towards Ramanagara, keeping them in a farmhouse. The abductors told Kumar that they had got to know that he had violated the girl, and abused and assaulted him using a wooden log, belts and stones, leaving him seriously injured. When his friends tried to intervene the abductors beat them up too.
At the end of that day, they brought him to Vidyapeeta Circle and forced Kumar to withdraw Rs 20,000 from an ATM and transferred Rs 12,000 from his Google Pay. They took him to a house in an unidentified location and locked him up, before resuming to beat him up through the night. The abductors reportedly told Kumar and his friends that they had to subject the girl to medical treatment and demanded Rs 5 lakh from him. The next day, they took Kumar to his rented house and continued to assault him, demanding that he arrange the money.
An investigating officer said that around 3 pm after the gang left his house, Kumar called police control room and informed them about his plight. “We swung into action and detained two of the girl’s relatives. But, only then did we learnt that Kumar had raped the girl. A case of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has been taken up against Kumar. He was arrested,” the officer said. The police have also taken up a case of kidnap and assault against the girl’s relatives and arrested them too.