Davanagere: Six days after a 41-year-old woman was drugged, forced to consume a spiked drink, and sexually assaulted in Davanagere district, police on Tuesday arrested 10 individuals, including a minor, on charges of gang rape.
Police said the accused allegedly took photographs and made videos of the ghastly crime. Authorities seized bikes and mobile phones from the suspects, who are in the 20-30 age group. The incident occurred under the Basavapatna police station limits in Channagiri taluk of Davanagere district.
Details of the Incident
According to police, the woman, a mother of two, had a fight with her alcoholic husband and walked out of the house in anger on the evening of June 3. Upset with her husband's drunken behavior and frequent quarrels, she started walking towards her brother's house in a neighboring village, about 2 kilometers away.
Police said a boy approached her and asked if she wanted a glass of juice as she looked exhausted. According to the First Information Report (FIR), the woman accepted the offer and drank what she believed was juice from a bottle. Immediately, she began feeling drowsy. The FIR quoted her as saying later that the accused had laced the drink with a sedative. Subsequently, the boy and another person offered to drop her to her brother's village.
“But they took me to a field and committed the crime with more youths. Feeling dizzy and unaware of where I was, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I reached my brother's house around 3:20 am,” the victim stated in her complaint.
Investigation and Arrests
After discovering that her photos and videos were circulating on mobile phones, the survivor's family filed a complaint on Monday night. Police arrested 10 suspects on charges of gang rape, filming photos, and videos. The arrested accused were identified as Chataki Nagaraj, Istari Nagaraj, Madhu, Arjun, Basavanta, Kundur Maruti, Manu, Jogi Sunil, and Pradeep. The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act has also been invoked.
Davanagere Superintendent of Police HT Shekhar said they have filed an FIR following a complaint from the survivor's family members and promised justice to the survivor.
