– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
Bengaluru: The Bommanahalli area police have arrested a police constable, along with another accused, for allegedly raping a minor girl who had approached the station to file a sexual assault complaint.
The 17-year-old victim was initially lured into a relationship by her neighbor, Vicky, who allegedly assaulted her repeatedly. Unable to endure the harassment, she confided in her mother, who then accompanied her to the police station to file a complaint.
At the station, Constable Arun Thonepa met the victim and offered to assist her in ensuring that culprit was punished. Under the guise of helping her, he promised job assistance and befriended her. However, he later took her to a hotel room, where he allegedly raped her multiple times. The constable also forced her to consume alcohol and later threatened to release recorded videos of the assault on social media if she disclosed the incident.
The distressed victim again informed her mother, who approached the police with a fresh complaint. Based on this, an FIR was registered against Arun and Vicky under various sections of the POCSO Act, as well as for rape and criminal intimidation under BNS.
Both accused were subsequently arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
