

BENGALURU: A 25-year-old woman, who went to a birthday party invited by her friend, was reportedly raped by a cab driver who was at the event. The incident took place on the night of June 30, and the victim filed a police complaint the next day. She has also accused her friend who invited her and three others of being mute spectators. The Thalaghattapura police who have registered the case have arrested all five accused.
The accused has been identified as J Amaresh, the cab driver. The victim’s friend who invited her to the party has been identified as 26-year-old Somashekar alias Somu Rathod, working at a security agency.
The victim is a resident of Devanahalli. Around 5 pm on June 30, Somashekar called her saying that a group of four friends, including two from Kalaburagi and two from the city, were going to a hotel for a birthday party and invited her. The woman went to Somashekar’s house in Maruthi Nagar around 7pm and from there, they were to go to the hotel. When she was at the house, she was allegedly served a drink laced with sedatives by the accused.
“After drugging the victim, Amaresh, one of the accused, raped her. While she was being raped, the others watched. The accused are claiming that it was consensual sex. We are verifying the claims made by the accused,” said a police officer.