TUMAKURU: Tumakuru women police on Thursday arrested three men in connection with the alleged gangrape of a minor girl near Siddaganga Mutt on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Amogha, Hanumantha and Pratap, all in their mid 20s. The victim, aged around 17, is a second PU student and hails from a minority community.
The accused, said to be cooks, were produced before a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody. They hail from north Karnataka.
The girl and her boyfriend had come for the annual fair of Siddaganga Mutt. The accused, who saw the girl and her boyfriend together at a hillock near the mutt, videographed them. They threatened the victim that they would post the video on social media if she did not go with them. They forcibly took the girl to their rented house at Bandepalya on a motorcycle and allegedly raped her. Later, they dropped her near the hillock. Her boyfriend admitted her to the district general hospital in Tumakuru.
“She was bleeding profusely. If she was not admitted to the hospital, the incident would not have come to light,” said a police officer. However, sources alleged that the police tried to hush up the case as the victim hails from a minority community.
Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, who confirmed the arrest of the accused, said stringent action will be taken against them.