The Karnataka Police have on Saturday arrested four, including one who knew the 16-year-old gang rape victim through Facebook, said Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Sonawane Rishikesh Bhagawan
The arrested accused have been identified as K.S. Sharath Shetty, a resident of Kapu, Maruthi Manjunath, Lodge Satish and Idayat Ulla are the arrested persons
Shetty came to know the victim through Facebook and spoke to her over the phone often and later introduced her to his relative Manjunath who sent indecent messages to the victim on WhatsApp and made video calls, investigation revealed.
Shetty asked the girl to come to town, took her to a lodge and then raped her. His friend Ulla also rape her, police said, adding that Satish had made arrangements of the lodge and sexually abused the girl.
Following the incident, the girl lodged a police complaint stating that the accused came in a car at about 8.15 am on Friday while she going to her school and was near the bus of Bantwal town.
She was talking to the accused who gave her chocolate and by the time she put that in her bag, she fell unconscious and when she woke up, found herself in a bed and the accused took turns to rape her.
Again, she lost her consciousness and when she regained senses, she was in a car. The accused left her near Bantwal town and she reached home calling her mother, the girl told police during preliminary investigations.
The police have registered a case under the POCSO act.
Taking cognizance of the case, State Women’s Commission President Pramila Naidu instructed the police department to initiate action against the accused persons and also to provide security to the victim and her family.