Rohan Umak
US woman raped Karnataka: A woman belonging to the United States (US), who recently travelled to India, alleged that she was sexually assaulted at a homestay in Karnataka’s Kodagu district, the police reported on Wednesday. According to police, the key accused had intoxicated the woman before assaulting her sexually.
Later, the woman managed to escape and travelled to Mysuru, from where she established contact with the US embassy authorities, laying bare the incident, and leading to the arrest of two accused, including the facility’s owner.
Key accused a resident of Jharkhand
As per police reports, the incident took place recently in Kutta village, located within the Virajpet Assembly constituency. The woman alleged that the key accused, identified as Brijesh Kumar, was attached to the homestay as a worker. He is a native of Jharkhand. The woman accused him of spiking her drink with an intoxicant and violating her thereafter.
Homestay owner tries to suppress incident, booked and arrested
The investigating police personnel said that they have booked the homestay’s owner too, on charges of suppressing the incident. The cops said he deliberately disconnected the Wi-fi at the property for three days, with the motive to isolate the survivor and deter her from seeking help.
A senior police official said that according to preliminary evidence, the owner attempted to cut off the survivor’s contact with the outside world. His exact role in aiding the key accused is still under probe.
US woman raped Karnataka: Survivor manages to leave on pretext of travelling to Mysuru, informs Embassy
The survivor woman remained stranded at the hellhole for three days, and later managed to escape on the pretext of travelling to Mysuru. Once she reached the city and regained access to communication, she contacted the US Embassy officials and alerted the authorities via email.
The US officials then apprised the Mysuru police of the incident, after which a case was registered at the Kutta police station. Kodagu’s Superintendent of Police (SP) said that a case pertaining to the sexual assault of a foreign national has been registered.
Accused remanded to judicial custody
Both Brijesh and the homestay owner were arrested, and have been remanded to judicial custody until May 3. The police said they have constituted a special team to probe the case at length, and authorities are examining all aspects of the incident.
