BENGALURU: Three robbers who were arrested by Mahalakshmi Layout police for a series of robberies around the city, have confessed to abducting and sexually assaulting a woman in KR Pet in Mandya five months ago, before going absconding.
The arrested are identified as Bharath J K (24), a native of Channarayanapattana in Hassan, Pramod U (21) of KR Pete in Mandya, and Harish Mayanna (26), of Kunigal in Tumakuru. Three of their associates are still at large and all of them are habitual offenders.
A senior police officer said, based on a tip-off, a special team chased a gang of six armed robbers who were waiting to rob passers-by. They were sitting in a car behind Mysore Sandal Soap factory when the police reached there. While Bharath, Pramod and Harish were chased and nabbed, three others managed
to escape.
During the interrogation, Pramodh, an auto driver, said he had befriended a woman in Madanayakanahalli near Nelamangala and had abducted her after luring her out on a date. He had taken her to Hubbanahalli near KR Pete and called one of his friends Hanumanahalli Gunda and the other two accused too. The four accused sexually assaulted her, snatched her phone and gold ornaments after threatening that they would kill her if she approached the police.
The woman, fearing disrepute, did not reveal anything about the incident to anyone. The incident was revealed only when Pramodh spilled the beans during the interrogation. The accused were booked under charges of gang-rape and further interrogations are on. “We are also interrogating the accused on whether they were involved in similar crimes anywhere else and checking whether any of the victims had approached the police. The accused were working as drivers in a private travel agency and left the job a few years ago,” the officer added.