The Bengaluru police have registered a hit-and-run case, in connection with the sexual assault of a 21-year-old student on the night of Saturday, August 17. A case was registered against the driver of a car that collided with two autos. The student was travelling in the car along with her friend. It is however unclear whether she was driving the car or her friend was. The auto drivers, in their complaint, have said the driver was a woman. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered at the Adugodi traffic police station based on a complaint against the driver on August 18.
Speaking to TNM, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) South East, said, “It was a minor accident where a car hit two autos and the auto drivers filed a complaint because the driver ran away. At that time, we did know that the two incidents were connected. It is still not known who was behind-the-wheel when the accident happened, if it was the woman or her friend. Investigation is going on.”
The complaint states that at around 11:30 pm on Saturday, a car in which the survivor and her friend was travelling in, collided with two autos and a motorcycle near Mangala Junction. “After hitting the vehicles, the driver did not stop and drove away in a fast and reckless manner. We chased the car and saw that the woman got down from the driver’s seat and a man got down from the passenger seat and they exchanged their seats. We confronted the people in the car and told them to repair our autos, the driver left the car without saying a word and ran away from the place,” the complaint reads.
The friend of the woman driver, helped her board a bike, and then pacified the enraged auto drivers.
Meanwhile, the woman got off the motorcycle and boarded another two-wheeler. The driver of the two-wheeler, 24-year-old Mukheshwaran aka Mukesh, a resident of Audugodi in Bengaluru, took her to an isolated place and sexually assaulted her.
The woman managed to send an SOS message to her friend. The friend then informed another friend who reached the spot and found the survivor in distress. “An unknown individual, wearing only pants, was standing nearby, appearing frightened, with visible injuries on his face. When the complainant tried to apprehend him, the individual ran away from the scene,” the complaint said.
The woman is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Bommasandra. Police sources stated that they would question the victim about the hit-and-run case only after she has fully recovered.