Habitual offenders, serial rapists don’t merely exist in crime dramas. But it is not often that you discover that such a predator has been prowling in your territory for many years. Bengaluru has just woken up to this rude fact and the city is shaken.
A young woman was allegedly assaulted and molested in the wee hours of March 5 in a PG in Kundalahalli by the man in question, Shivarama Reddy. The case has opened a can of worms, revealing that Reddy has been targeting women from as far back as 2011.
According to records accessed by TNM, Reddy has as many as 16 cases against him, including at least two cases of rape, at least one case of attempted murder and multiple cases of theft and robbery.
Here are the chilling details:
Bannerghatta
In 2011, three cases were registered against Reddy in Bannerghatta alone. In all three, he was charged under sections 387 (putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt for extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation), 170 (impersonating a public servant) and 171 (wearing a garb or carrying a token used by a public servant with fraudulent intentions) of the IPC.
Adugodi
In 2012, there were two FIRs against Reddy. In the first, he was booked for dacoity under IPC sections 399 and 402.
In the second, he was charged for extortion (section 384).
Mahadevapura
This is the first FIR which records sexual assault. According to the document, Reddy broke and entered the residence of a woman and assaulted her. The FIR was filed in 2013.
Reddy was booked for trespassing (section 448), voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons (section 323 and 324), assault on a woman with the intent of outraging her modesty (section 354) as well as criminal intimidation.
Madivala
Reddy was charged with voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery (section 394) in Madiwala in 2014.
Varthur
In 2014, Reddy was charged with sexual harassment in Varthur and booked under section 354A. He was also accused of robbery and causing injury with a dangerous weapon.
Electronic city
Three FIRs were filed against Reddy in 2014. Two of them charged him with robbery with attempt to cause death or serious hurt (section 397).
In the third one, Reddy was accused of rape (section 376) and attempt to murder (section 307) along with trespassing and tampering with the evidence (section 201).
Reddy was arrested in relation to the rape case and was released on bail last year in December.
HSR Layout
An FIR was filed against Reddy in 2016. The charges were for dacoity (section 397) and trespassing (section 451).
HAL
Two FIRs against Reddy had already been filed in HAL in 2014, both of them for theft (section 380).
The most recent cases were also filed here. The first one, dated March 2, is the case in which Reddy has been charged with rape, assault on a woman to outrage her modesty and extortion.
The second FIR, which brought Reddy’s past record to light, was filed on March 5. The FIR was filed by the PG owner and lists extortion and assault with the attempt to outrage a woman’s modesty.