Student, 19, accused of extortion alleges gang rape in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A 19-year-old college student has accused her boyfriend and his friend — a 34-year-old used-car dealer from Malleswaram — of gang rape during a party at a villa in Jakkur near Yelahanka on the night of Feb 14. The case took a dramatic turn after it emerged that the used-car dealer had, a day before the rape complaint was filed, lodged an extortion complaint against the woman and others. The student's complaint was registered Sunday.
On Saturday, the car dealer accused her, along with a reporter from a vernacular TV channel and others, of trying to extort Rs 10-15 lakh from him. He alleged they claimed to possess incriminating evidence of him sexually assaulting the woman and threatened to air the details through a TV programme. According to the student, she was drugged and raped at the villa. In her complaint, she said the car dealer and her boyfriend made her swallow a pill, after which she slipped into a semi-conscious state. "The duo raped me in the villa," she stated, adding that the car dealer warned her of dire consequences if she spoke about the incident. She said she underwent a medical examination on Feb 17 and later confided in her elder brother. "Unable to bear the trauma, I narrated the incident to my elder brother, who suggested I file a police complaint," she said. In his complaint, the car dealer gave a different version. "Besides dealing in used cars, I have taken a villa in Jakkur on lease and rent it out for parties. One of my friends booked the villa for Feb 14-15 to celebrate Valentine's Day. I landed there past midnight. There, the female student, whom I met previously at another party, got close to me and told me she was suffering from depression since her father had been diagnosed with cancer and her parents were getting divorced," he told police. He further alleged that she had behaved in an indecent manner and made objectionable comments. A senior IPS officer said both complaints are being investigated. "We are looking for the businessman [used-car dealer] and his friend [the complainant woman's boyfriend]. We will arrest them on charges of gang rape. Also, we are collecting details of circumstantial evidence and other documents in connection with the extortion claim," he said.