R B Jagadish

Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Feb 24: Reportedly, a 19-year-old dalit girl from near Mulky was raped by a person belonging to a different religion from Borgalgudde in Nitte village near here. It is said that the man befriended the girl and won her trust by faking himself as a bachelor practising Hinduism.

It is said that the man was supported in this task by three of his friends, including a person from Lamina Cross, who works as driver of an auto rickshaw.

Some locals including leaders of Hindu organizations, who came to know about the incident, assaulted the accused, identified as Muhammed Asif (29), before handing him over to the police. Muhammed Asif, a labourer, has three children. It is said that the auto rickshaw driver, Ravi, Vijay, and Yogeesh, who had helped Asif, have gone missing.

The victim is from Gerukatte in Kilpady Mulky. It is claimed that Asif introduced himself as a bachelor when the girl had visited her relative in Borgalgudde on a previous occasion, and had tactfully collected her cell phone number. He then called her, claiming himself to be Aditya Shetty, and acted like having fallen in love with her. During her recent visit, it is said, he invited her to his home, and after promising to marry her, had sex with her in a shed near his home on February 4.

The policemen said that the girl hails from a very poor family. As she belongs to scheduled community, the case also falls under the act relating to atrocities against scheduled castes and tribes, they added.

A case stands registered in the rural police station here against Asif. On the basis of information provided by him, the policemen have been trying to arrest his accomplices.