Bengaluru constable molests minor, arrested

Bengaluru: A 45-year-old head constable, attached to Sriramapura police station, was arrested after he allegedly sexually assaulted his brother-in-law’s 17-year-old daughter. The accused, Basavaraju, has been arrested under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the police, the survivor, a second PU student, who is the daughter of the younger brother of the Basavaraju’s wife’s, had come to his house four days ago for vacation. When Basavaraju’s wife and children had gone out on Monday morning, the survivor went to take bath. Taking advantage of the situation, Basavaraju allegedly barged inside and sexually assaulted the girl.

“A compliant was filed by the girl by afternoon with the Rajajinagar police, under whose jurisdiction the offence took place. The accused was arrested immediately. The girl has made a statement that Basavaraju had allegedly sexually assaulted her when she had come to his house two years ago. That is being verified,” DCP (North) T. R. Suresh told Deccan Chronicle.

Police sources said both the girl and the accused were subjected to medical tests on Monday evening and the doctors have reportedly confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted. Meanwhile, accused Basavaraju has told the police that the girl had filed a false complaint as there is a property dispute between him and his brother-in-law.

The Rajajinagar police, who have registered the case, produced the accused before a magistrate on Tuesday and he was remanded to judicial custody. Further investigations are on.

Debt drives cop to suicide
A 37-year-old police constable committed suicide by hanging at his house in Harohalli police quarters near Kanakapura in Ramanagar district on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Shivaraju, who hails from Channamanahalli in Ramanagar and joined the police department in 2002.

According to the police, Shivaraju got married about nine years ago and has a seven-year-old daughter. His wife and daughter had gone to his in-law’s house as it was vacation. He was alone at the house when the incident took place.

On Monday afternoon, he was in the police station and was sent to Mysuru on official work. However, he told authorities he wanted to go home for a while, but never returned.

“His wife and father-in-law tried to contact him several times on his phone, but he did not respond. Around 8 pm, they informed the police station and a policeman was sent to check. When he reached his house and called on his mobile phone, the phone was ringing. He then peeped through the window and found him hanging,” the police said.

“The exact reason for the suicide is uknown. His family members claim he took the extreme step due to some personal problem. We are investigating to know the reason,” the police added. Harohalli police have registered a case of unnatural death.