BENGALURU: “Keep the gates closed. Don’t open the door without knowing who is knocking. Don’t walk alone after 6 PM!” This is the advice mothers and elders give young women in their family or friends in Basaveshwaranagar, where a woman, alone at home, was allegedly raped at knife-point by an unidentified miscreant. The perpetrator is still at large.
When The New Indian Express visited the locality where the incident occurred, the road was eerily silent. Only after knocking on several doors did a few neighbours speak to this reporter, saying that they are “very scared and refuse to leave their women alone in the house or on the road.”
Nagaratnamma Rani, a home maker, said, “There has not been a single instance of crime on this road. Most of the time we are inside our homes. If something like this can happen to someone we see on a daily basis, we are scared to even step out of our house or leave our daughters alone at home!”
Meanwhile, a barber on that road who has a small saloon, on condition of anonymity, said the girls from the house where the incident occurred were very much on their own. They spoke Hindi and didn’t talk to anyone in the area. “They worked throughout the day or worked from home. It looks like someone might have noticed when they were alone in the house,” he said.
The entire area seemed to be living in fear as the rumours of the rapist being a psychopath is doing the rounds. “I remember way back in 1999, when Umesh Reddy was at large. He would target home-alone women and rape and murder them. We dread being alone at home. I cannot believe that I fear the same for my daughter. The police should do something about this soon,” said Pushpavalli, a resident.
Meanwhile, Basaveshwarnagar police refused to divulge details about the incident, but told The New Indian Express that they have made found some CCTV images wherein they suspect a person.
A senior police officer said:“We suspect it must be someone who observed that the lady was alone in the house. The house is located on the first floor and he dared enter the building despite there being two other floors in the building. However, all the neighbours said they were inside their houses and had not seen anyone entering the building.”
The incident occurred on Sunday night around 9.30 PM when an unidentified masked man barged into the house of a 33-year-old chartered accountant. The woman was alone at home as her house-mates had gone home for Deepavali holidays. When she tried to raise an alarm he covered her mouth and slapped her before locking the door from inside. Meanwhile, she lost consciousness due to the shock and he raped her repeatedly.
The neighbours who alerted the police have been asked not to talk to anyone about the incident as the police believe it might give clues to the perpetrator and help him escape. The police have shown photographs of habitual offenders to the victim and have made a sketch of the accused. “We have some clues and we will surely nab him in another three days. We will disclose if he is a habitual offender or a first-timer once the arrest is made. The residents need not worry. We have started patrolling the area to reassure residents of their safety,” said a senior police officer.