Bengaluru: Engineering student raped inside campus, accused arrested
An engineering student was raped by her former classmate on the campus of a private college in Bengaluru. The survivor filed a complaint, 5 days after the assault and the accused was arrested. He was sent to judicial custody, while the police continue their investigations. The woman was dragged into a men's washroom at the college and was sexually assaulted by the accused, said officials.
New Delhi: A woman studying at a private engineering college in Bengaluru, was allegedly raped by one of her former classmates on the college campus. Police arrested a 21-year-old man, also a student of the same college for the crime. The woman was allegedly molested inside the men's washroom of the college. The college is located in South Bengaluru.
Accused sent to judicial custody
The police have identified the accused as Jeean Gowda, a 6th semester student of the same college. He was taken into custody, soon after the woman filed a complaint. He has now been remanded in judicial custody, said officials.
The incident reportedly happened on October 10. The woman however approached the police, 5 days later on October 15. She is a 7th semester student, said officials. A complaint was registered against the 21-year-old student on October 15, said officials.
The First Information Report says that the man has been charged under Section 64 (Punishment of rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The police said that the survivor and the accused knew each other. Initially both were classmates, but the accused failed in his exams and fell behind the woman academically. On the day of the incident, the 2 reportedly met as the woman had to collect some of her belongings from the man. She took them and left. However during the lunch break, the 21-year-old called the survivor multiple times on her phone. When she responded, he asked her to meet him near the architectural bloc of the college.
The woman then made her way to the architectural bloc. She alleged that the man tried to forcibly kiss her there. She stopped him from doing so and immediately entered the lift to leave. However the accused followed her and accosted her on the sixth floor of the building. He then forcibly dragged her to the men's washroom on the floor and allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The assault reportedly occurred between 1:30 pm to 1:50 pm. The accused had also confiscated the woman's phone, when it rang during the sexual assault.
The woman talked about her ordeal to 2 of her friends. Later she reached home and told her parents about what had happened in college. However due to fear and distress she could not immediately approach the police. Her parents later accompanied her to the police station and then the complaint was filed.
Police said that there were no CCTV cameras installed in the washroom or in the corridor, where the assault reportedly took place. This, they said, would make it difficult for the police to put forward a strong case. Police plan to rely on forensic and digital evidence in the investigations.
Political reactions
The incident has given fresh fuel to the Bharatiya Janata Party to attack the ruling Congress in Karnataka. The party once again attacked the Siddaramaiah government over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
Taking to social media, R Ashoka, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, said: "The law and order in Karnataka has collapsed. In just four months, there have been 979 sexual assaults on girls. Bengaluru alone has reported over 114 cases. Our women and children are living in fear due to the state government's criminal inaction. From the brutal rape and murder of a tribal girl in Mysuru to the tragic suicide of a librarian in Kalaburagi - this is a moral and administrative failure."