DAVANGERE: A 41-year-old woman was allegedly drugged and gang-raped in Karnataka’s Davangere district, with police arresting 10 people in connection with the case, officials said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on the evening of June 3 in a village under the Basavapatna police station limits. However, it remained unreported until June 8, when a video showing the woman in an intoxicated condition allegedly surfaced in several WhatsApp groups.
Following a complaint filed by the survivor, police arrested all 10 people named in the FIR.
In her complaint, the woman said she had left home after a domestic dispute and was walking towards her village when two men approached her, claiming they wanted to help.
According to police, the men allegedly gave her a soft drink suspected of being mixed with a sedative, after which she lost consciousness.
Investigators said she was then taken to a secluded farm on the outskirts of the village, where several men had gathered.
The survivor alleged that she was sexually assaulted there and that the accused photographed and filmed her while she was in an intoxicated state.
After villagers informed her that the videos had been circulated online, she approached the police and lodged a complaint.
Based on her statement, police registered a case under Sections 70 (gang rape), 77 (voyeurism) and 190 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in pursuit of a common object) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, said Davangere Superintendent of Police Shekhar HT.
"We have secured all 10 accused in the case. Further investigation is underway," he added.
Police said the crime scene was examined to reconstruct the sequence of events and preserve forensic evidence. The woman also underwent a medical examination as part of the investigation.
The accused persons’ mobile phones have been seized to trace the origin and circulation of the videos, police added.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)The TOI City Desk is an indefatigable team of journalists dedicat...
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