BANGALORE: Electronics City police on Tuesday arrested the owner of the paying guest (PG) accommodation where a 25-year-old techie was raped on Friday.
Srinivasa Reddy, who is the second accused in the case, was arrested for destroying evidence from the PG soon after the rape.
He has also been charged for not providing adequate security for the women living in the PG. The main accused, Shivaram Reddy, was arrested on Monday, police said.
According to police, Shivaram entered the PG and threatened the victim with a knife and disrobed her. He told her there were others waiting outside the room and if she made a noise, she would be raped by all of them.
The victim approached the owner later and narrated the incident. However, he demanded that she vacate the room immediately and instead of calling the police, he washed the room, erasing the blood stains, footprints and fingerprints.
Perturbed by Srinivasa’s callous attitude, the victim called her parents and filed a police complaint. He was arrested under Section 204 of the IPC, said TD Pawar, DCP (South East).
Rapist Targeted Umarried Women
According to police, Shivaram is involved in more than 30 similar cases reported from Mahadevapura, Bannerghatta and Electronics City.
Police said he targeted unmarried women living in paying guests accommodations. Worried about their marriage prospects, most victims refused to file complaints.
About Shivaram’s modus operandi, police said: “He would watch the targeted PG rooms and ensure that there were not more than three occupants. If more than one person was present when he attacked, he would lock the girls in the bathroom and molest only one of them”.
Guidelines for PGs
With the cooperation of the BBMP, the police commissionerate will approach the state government to formulate guidelines for paying guest accommodation owners. For starters, they will be asked to register themselves as commercial establishments. “We will also be advising them on providing security, including guards and CCTV cameras at the entrance to the building, having a common visiting room, maintaining an updated diary on service providers like the milkman, newspaper vendor, plumbers, etc who may regularly visit the PG,” City Police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said.