Davanagere, Apr 4: In a shocking incident, a woman was allegedly gang raped in front of her two sons in a private bus in Karnataka’s Davanagere district. The police have arrested three accused rapists in connection with the case.

According to sources, the victim was returning home with her children on a bus after visiting the famous religious centre Ucchangidurga temple, located in Harapanahalli in the Davanagere district.

The driver, conductor, and helper of the bus gang raped her near Channapura village, which is close to Davanagere city.

Shockingly, it is alleged that the local police tried to hush up the case, and action was only initiated after the intervention of the Vijayanagar SP, Shrihari Babu B.L.

Preliminary information indicates that the victim, hailing from the Vijayanagar district, had come to visit and attend a religious fair at the famous Ucchangidurga temple with her two children on March 31. She got late and took the last bus towards Davanagere city from Ucchangidurga.

There were seven to eight passengers on the bus. Once all other passengers had disembarked, the accused persons committed the crime. Sources said that the driver took the bus to an isolated place near Channapura and gagged the children by stuffing cloth into their mouths. They also tied their hands and gang raped their mother in front of them.

However, farmers who were in their fields and passers-by rushed to the spot and rescued the woman.

The three accused – driver Prakash Madivalara, conductor Suresh, and helper Rajashekar – were caught and handed over to the Arasikere police. Sources stated that one of the accused has seven prior cases against him.

It is alleged that even though the locals informed the police and handed over the accused to the jurisdictional Arasikere Police, they initially did not register the case. They allegedly obtained the victim's signature on a blank sheet of paper.

The police reportedly gave her Rs 2,000 and asked her to buy new clothes as they were torn. Furthermore, they allegedly advised her not to make an issue of the incident, stating that it would become difficult for her to live.

They then dropped her back at the Ucchangidurga temple. The police allegedly told her that they would call her when required and asked her to go home. The victim spent the night in the temple premises with her children. It is alleged that the police let the accused persons go.

Somehow, local Dalit leaders learned about the woman and her two sons staying at the temple for days and contacted her.

Subsequently, the leaders informed the Vijayanagara SP, Shrihari Babu, about the incident.

Upon learning about it, SP Shrihari Babu asked the victim and Dalit leaders to come to the Arasikere police station. The SP reached the police station and, under his supervision, the victim's statements were recorded and the accused were arrested again, sources confirmed.

In a shocking incident, a young woman migrant labourer from Bihar was kidnapped and raped while searching for food with her brother in the early hours of Thursday near a railway station in Bengaluru.

(IANS)

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