Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Aug 12: In an incident which occurred at Kambadakone near Byndoor in the taluk, a car driver, who accommodated a boy who sought a drop to his home, behaved with him in a bizarre manner. He was later arrested by the police. Khareem Abrahar (30) from Udupi has been accused of indecent behaviour in this case.

A ninth standard student of the government high school at Kambadakone was going to his house located at Heranjal Cross, Heggeri on Tuesday August 11 evening by walk, when he signalled a Maruti Eeco car which was passing from near the railway gate at Kambadakone and asked to be dropped near his home. Khareem, who was driving the car asked the boy to be seated beside him.

It is alleged that when driving, the accused moved his hands in a vulgar manner on the boy's trousers. This behaviour took the boy by surprise, and he turned fearful. Khareem stopped the car a little distance later, forced the boy to remove his pants, and began to behave obscenely. The boy started to shout, at which the driver, who developed cold feet at the possibility of getting into problems, turned the car towards a path leading into the woods. By chance, it was the way leading to the boy's home. A person, who was working nearby approached the car and questioned why was he crying. At this, the driver fled, leaving the boy there. The boy explained what had happened. At the same time, the car driver tried to take another path to reach the main road instead of coming back by the same way. But he did not get to the main road. He asked a local for direction, and had to return by the same way which he had used to enter the forest.

The locals, who were told about the incident, knew that the car had to return by the same path. The people signalled the car to stop when it came near, but the driver signalled that he will move ahead. When a local held a stone high, warning of shattering his window glasses, he slowed down, but suddenly applied accelerator and sped away. The locals immediately called a friend at Kambadakone Cross and asked him to stop the car. Two persons from Kambadakone, Surendra and Ganesh, waited for the car in a motor bike at Kambadakone. As soon as the car approached, they blocked the road with their motor bike by stopping it across the road. The car came at high speed, and after coming near the bike, the driver suddenly turned the car to the right and sped towards Kundapur. Although Surendra chased the car immediately, he could not locate the car, which was moving at high speed. During searches, the car was found to have been parked near the beach at Maski, but the driver had fled.

The policemen also were searching for the driver. Khareem, who had walked by the beach road after parking his car, saw some policemen near a petty shop on that road. He tried to flee from there, but Byndoor police circle inspector, M Sudarshan, station house officer, Santosh Kaikini, and staff succeeded in chasing and arresting him.

It is said that Khareem, who is from Udupi, had come to the house of a relative in Byndoor. He was behaving like a maniac and was roaming about restlessly, it is gathered. The accused was booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and produced in court.