Yahya Hallare
Daijiworld Media Network - Bhatkal
Bhatkal, Nov 22: A married man has been arrested on charges of abducting and repeatedly raping a minor girl who was studying in a girls' Madrasa. His wife, who allegedly supported him and abetted the crime, has gone absconding.
The prime accused, identified as Naseer (35), allegedly kidnapped a 13-year-old girl from a girls' Madrasa at Tenginagundi in the taluk. He is engaged in embroidery work at a tailoring shop. His wife Afreena is the second accused in the case, and the police are hunting for her.
The girl is undergoing treatment at the government hospital in the taluk. It is said that her mother suffers from mental illness.
The police have seized the car used for abducting the girl.
Sources said that Naseer was sexually deprived as his wife did not satisfy his needs, and hence he kept an eye on the girl in the Madrasa. Afreena too supported her husband in this inhuman deed and agreed to abduct the girl for him.
On November 5, Afreena went to the Madrasa where the girl was studying and claimed that she was her aunt. She hid her face so that the girl would not discover that she was lying, and called the girl to her while standing outside the Madrasa gate. The girl, believing that it was indeed her aunt, came running out to her. Meanwhile, Naseer was waiting in his car outside. Afreena pushed the girl into the car and the couple sped away towards Kumta.
It is alleged that the couple along with the child wandered around for sometime in the car, and then took the girl to a guest house beside the highway where she was allegedly raped. During police investigation, it was learnt that Naseer allegedly raped the girl at least thrice that day, with his wife supporting him.
The next day, that is November 6, the girl was taken to Hubballi, and there too the couple rented a room in a guest house and allegedly raped the girl again. The accused couple then abandoned the girl near a petrol bunk and fled. The girl was found by a resident of Hubballi, who took her home and questioned her. The person contacted the the girl's father after obtaining his mobile phone number, and handed over the girl to him.
The girl narrated the course of events after which she was admitted to the government hospital. Police sources said that medical examination of the girl confirmed that she was raped.
The girl's mother, who is suffering from mental illness, is unaware of what her daughter has gone through, sources said.
Accused identified through CCTV
It is learnt that CCTV cameras installed at Hiregutti police station near Ankola and in Hubballi region helped the police in identifying and nabbing the main accused. The CCTV images show that at the police checkpost at Hiregutti, Naseer had stopped to chat with a police constable he had previously known (the constable had been working in Bhatkal police station before). This made the job easier for the police.
The police are looking for Afreena and once she is arrested, more details of the case would be known.