Bengaluru: Six including two women held for minor’s rape

Bengaluru: Six persons, including two women, have been arrested on charges of raping a 16-year-old girl in Bengaluru, police said on Friday

Police have registered cases against the arrested accused — Kalavathi (52), a resident of Agara; Rajeshwari (50), a resident of Bandepalya; Keshavamurthy (47), Deputy Manager from an automobile company in Hosur; Satyaraju (43), a resident of Koramangala; Sharath (38), a resident of Yelahanka and Rafeeq (38) from Begur under the Protection of Children from the Sexual Offences Act (Pocso), kidnapping, human trafficking, rape, prostitution and life threat.

Acting on the complaint lodged by the victim’s mother, the police swung into action and nabbed the accused in 36 hours.

Police said that the victim’s parents had migrated to Bengaluru and were working as labourers. The accused Rajeshwari who was staying in the neighborhood ran a tailoring shop and the victim used to go there after school hours to learn tailoring.

On one such occasion, Rajeshwari allegedly offered her juice laced with sedatives and when she lost consciousness she was raped by Keshavamurthy at the former’s residence. When the victim regained consciousness, she noticed bloodstains all over but Rajeshwari told her that she had fallen unconscious at her house and forced her to take bath before she left.

Two days later, Rajeshwari asked the victim to come to her house but the girl refused. She then threatened the victim and took her to another accused Kalavathy’s home. Both the accused threatened her and made the victim entertain other men.

The incident came to light when the girl’s mother noticed blood stains on her daughter’s clothes and also her reluctance to go to Rajeshwari for learning tailoring. On questioning, her daughter revealed the trauma whereafter a case was filed with HSR Layout police.

The police said the 16-year-old girl was repeatedly raped for six days.

Police investigation revealed that accused Rajeshwari and Kalavathi, had been working as sex workers for the past seven years. They operated individually and got their clients. Rajeshwari and her friend Kalavathi, lured women and girls, who came to the tailoring shop, into prostitution.