Bengaluru: A shocking incident surfaced from Karnataka's capital Bengaluru, where an engineering student was allegedly raped inside a men's toilet by her college mate on the campus of a private engineering institution. The accused was taken into custody on Wednesday. He has been identified as Jeevan Gowda.
The alleged incident took place on October 10. The survivor is a seventh-semester student, while the accused is a sixth-semester student. The female student filed a complaint five days after the incident on October 15, reported NDTV.
Based on the complaint, the case was reportedly registered under the relevant section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 64 (Punishment for Rape).
The accused and the survivor knew each other, but due to the backlog, Gowda fell behind her in academics by one semester. During the lunch break, Gowda called the survivor multiple times and asked her to meet on October 10 near the architecture block on the seventh floor, reported the media house.
When the survivor arrived, he reported trying to kiss her forcibly. However, when she tried to leave, the accused followed her and then reportedly dragged her into the men's washroom. He then allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Gowda locked the washroom door and took her phone, reported NDTV, citing the FIR. The FIR also revealed that after the woman reached home, Gowda called her and allegedly asked, "Do you need a pill?"
The survivor told about the incident to her two friends. She then approached the police five days later and filed a complaint. After the arrest, the accused was sent to judicial custody.
The college management told the police that there were no CCTVs installed on the sixth floor of the college.
The incident sparked a political storm in the state, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slamming the ruling Congress government in the state. The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R Ashoka, alleged that the law and order in the state had collapsed.
