BENGALURU: A 28-year-old cab driver allegedly molested an engineering student after barging into her house at Chikkabanavara in Soladeveanahalli. The quick-thinking girl called a few of her male friends who caught the accused and handed him over to police. The incident occurred on November 6 when she was alone at home.
The 19-year-old victim hails from Dharwad and is a third semester student at a private college in the city. She has been living in the city for the last three years. The accused Sharath is a native of Bhadravathi and works for a private cab company. He is a resident of Kodigehalli near Hebbal.
A senior police officer said, “Sharath had gone to the house of his friend Sanju, which is on the first floor of the same building. Around 2 am, he came to the ground floor, where the girl stays, and repeatedly knocked on her door. The girl, who was asleep, opened the door and even before she could identify who it was, he barged in. He allegedly pushed her, closed her mouth, took a kitchen knife and threatened to kill her if she raised an alarm. He then pushed her into the bedroom and tore her dress. The girl however managed to push him back and called two of her friends over the phone. They immediately rushed to the spot and rescued her and later alerted the Hoysala patrol squad who took him into the custody. Some locals who came out after hearing the commotion, thrashed Sharath before handing him over to the police.”
During interrogation, Sharath told police that he had watched the movements of the girl as he often visited his friend Sanju. He intentionally barged into the house and tried to sexually assault her. When she pushed him away, he tried to attack her with a blunt weapon, police said.
The victim and Sharath were sent for medical tests and he was later handed over to judicial custody. An officer said, “The victim’s friend told us that after Sharath barged into her place, claimed to be a real estate agent and allegedly threatened her to marry him. And when she tried to push him, he tried to strangle her. He was not able to stand properly as he was in inebriated state.”“We also verified with the company he works for to ascertain if he was involved in such cases earlier. He has no such history,” the officer added.