Police in Belagavi acted swiftly and arrested three individuals accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls in Harugeri village, Raibag taluk, after a complaint was filed by the victims’ families. The arrests were made within 24 hours of the report.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Bheemashankar Guled confirmed the arrests of Abhishek, Kautub Banu alias Bapusa Badiger, and Adilsha Jamadar, all residents of Harugeri. According to the police, Abhishek had befriended one of the victims via social media and invited her to attend a jatra (fair) in Saundatti. The victim, accompanied by her minor friend, was picked up by Abhishek, who was joined by Kautub and Jamadar. However, instead of going to the fair, they took the girls to a secluded location, where Abhishek and Kautub are accused of sexually assaulting the victim.
The situation worsened when, after the assault, the complainant returned to the car and discovered her friend was also being assaulted by Jamadar. The accused then threatened the victims to prevent them from reporting the incident and later released them. The traumatized girls initially did not know how to proceed.
Eventually, the girls found the courage to inform their families, who then approached the police. The police immediately took action, arresting the suspects and seizing evidence from the main accused’s mobile phone.
Abhishek, who had befriended the girls on Instagram, invited them on the pretext of going to Goa for a picnic. The accused allegedly used footage of the assault to blackmail the victims, pressuring them to accompany them to Goa.
“They threatened to share the videos on social media and harm the girls if they refused or reported what happened,” SP Guled said.
