Bengaluru: The city police on Tuesday arrested two men for allegedly gang-raping a 22-year-old BPO employee. The woman was raped in a moving van at knife-point on Saturday night. The two were nabbed following a manhunt based on the information given by the victim.
The accused, Sunil (23) and Yogish (22), who hail from Chikkamagaluru, work as drivers in Bengaluru. The duo have been living in a rented house in Chennammana Kere near Kathriguppe for the past three years.
Police Commissioner N S Megharikh told reporters that the victim boarded the Tempo Traveller near Bommanahalli junction after the drivers offered to drop her home. They took her to an isolated place and raped her in the vehicle after parking it near a construction site. Later, they dropped her near her PG home, he said.
The victim went to the hospital along with her friends and the hospital staff alerted the Madiwala police, Megharikh said.
The special investigation team led by DCP Rohini Katoch began tracking the van KA-03, B-1836, based on the description of the interior of the vehicle and three digits of the registration number given by the victim. She also helped draw the sketches of the accused.
No CCTVs in the Area
Megharikh said there were no CCTV cameras on the entire stretch where the vehicle moved around. “We found some CCTV footage from the shopping complexes in the area, but it did not help track the vehicle.” The police task became more difficult as the accused took away the victim’s SIM card and threw it away to avoid detection of the location.
‘Company at Fault’: The call centre located in Bommanahalli has 15 employees. It completely violated labour laws and guidelines given by the Women and Child Development Department, he said. The employees of the company had no drop and pickup facility. “We are sending a notice to the company and legal action will be taken against it,” he added.
Victim Leaves City: The victim, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday left the city along with her family, and assured the police that she would cooperate with them. It is said that when the victim sensed trouble, she sent a message to one of her friends, who then tried to reach her repeatedly. But her mobile remained switched off.
‘Use Social Media’: Megharikh said the gang-rape was very unfortunate and it should be a lesson to all. People should use social media to create awareness of such incidents and be cautious, he said.
Who are they?: Sunil and Yogish are cousins and come from poor families. While Sunil is from Sindigere in Chikkamagaluru taluk, Yogish is from S Bidare in Kadur taluk. Both did their schooling in Sindigere.
After completing SSLC, Sunil began driving a tractor, while Yogish worked on the farm. Both came to Bengaluru three years ago in search of work. They are said to be working for one Shivanand of Kathriguppe, who owns two Tempo Travellers.
