A 19-year-old college student has alleged that she was drugged and raped by two men at a private villa in north Bengaluru after attending a Valentine’s Day party. Police have registered a case and begun an investigation. The incident is reported to have taken place on the night of February 14 and the early hours of February 15.
The survivor, a first-year bachelor's student studying at a private college in Bengaluru, is a native of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and has been staying in a paying guest accommodation in the city for the past five months. According to the FIR, she became acquainted with one of the accused, Dixon Sando (21), through Instagram in January 2026. They remained in regular contact through chats and phone calls and had met a few times before the incident.
On February 14, after attending college and later having dinner with a friend in Banashankari, she received a call from Dixon inviting her to a party at a private property in Jakkur. She reached the venue with a friend, and at the gathering, she was introduced to the second accused, Nikhil (34), a second-hand car dealer from Rajajinagar. Nikhil also operated the villa in Jakkur, which he rented out for parties.
In her complaint dated February 21, the woman alleged that the two men forced her to consume a pink-coloured intoxicating tablet. She said she began feeling dizzy, experienced body heat and partial loss of consciousness. She alleged that she was taken to a room where she was sexually assaulted while in a semi-conscious condition.
The survivor stated that she later regained partial awareness and found herself being assaulted by both men. She further alleged that she was confined in the room, threatened with death if she disclosed the incident or approached the police, and later dropped off near a mall.
The woman said she did not immediately lodge a complaint due to fear and trauma caused by the alleged threats. She sought medical treatment at a Bengaluru hospital on February 17 and informed her elder brother, who advised her to approach the police.
Based on her statement, an FIR has been registered at Amruthahalli police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to sexual assault, repeated sexual violence and criminal intimidation.
A day before the woman filed her complaint, on February 21, Nikhil lodged a complaint with the Malleshwaram Police Station alleging blackmail and attempted extortion. He stated that the villa had been booked by a friend for a Valentine’s Day celebration from February 14 to February 16 and that he attended the party in the early hours of February 14. He claimed that after the party ended around 4 am, the woman asked him to drop her and that he did so.
In his complaint, Nikhil alleged that on February 18, he came across Instagram posts by the woman claiming she had been given intoxicating substances and sexually assaulted during the party. He said he subsequently received calls from an individual identifying themselves as an employee of a regional news channel, demanding money to settle the matter and threatening to air defamatory news if he did not comply.
He accused the woman and unidentified callers of impersonation, criminal intimidation and attempted extortion.