The bike-taxi driver struck chatted with the 22-year-old and took her to what he said was his girlfriend's place, where she was raped.
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The Electronic City police have arrested a bike-taxi rider and two others — including a woman — for allegedly gang-raping a 22-year-old woman who had hired the app-based taxi in Southeast Bengaluru on the intervening night of 24 and 25 November.
The survivor, a native of Kerala, was travelling from her friend’s house in HSR Layout to another friend’s house in Electronic City, said the police.
She works as a freelance web designer and a techie in the city, and used the app Rapido to hire the bike-taxi, the cops added.
Two of the accused have been identified as Shahabuddin (26), the Rapido taxi rider, and his friend Akhtar (24), who works as a mobile mechanic, the police said.
The woman who was arrested in the case is said to be the cousin of one of the accused, and was in the room where the crime was committed in Neeladrinagar in Electronic City.,
The cops said she was a party to the crime by abetting it and even trying to hide information from the police during interrogation.
According to the police, Shahabuddin picked up the survivor as a passenger, and realised while on the way that his pillion-rider was in an inebriated stage.
Shahabuddin struck up a friendly conversation with her and then took her to a room where he said his girlfriend stayed with his close friend’s cousin, said the police, adding that he also called his friend Akhtar to come to the room that night.
They then took turns raping the inebriated woman through the night in the room, said the cops.
The next morning, Shahabuddin and Akhtar called up the latter’s cousin, who used to stay in the room, to apparently give company to the victim and console her.
The accused even called one of the survivor’s friends and informed him that the girl was found in an inebriated condition the previous night and the trio had given her shelter in their room. The friend apparently believed the story and took her away with him.
Later, the victim complained of body pain and, finding bruises all over her body, she and her friend visited a hospital where a medico-legal case (MLC) was recorded.
The MLC was promptly sent to the jurisdictional police, who were informed that the patient had been a victim of sexual assault.
“After the police visited the hospital to record the victim’s statement, the woman was not ready to file a police complaint fearing her family’s repercussions and social stigma,” said a senior police officer.
“However, she later mustered courage and filed a complaint with the Electronic City police, based on which the cops arrested three persons the very next day,” the officer added.
“We have arrested three persons, including a woman, for an alleged gang rape incident in Electronic City. The prime accused is a Rapido bike-taxi rider who was picked up with the help of the database from his employer,” said city Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy.
“The other accused are a mobile mechanic and a woman who is related to one of the accused,” he added.
The prime accused, Shahabuddin, already has a criminal case registered against him, Reddy said.
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