In Haveri, a group of seven men is facing gangrape charges after allegedly attacking an interfaith couple staying in a hotel room. The incident, which occurred on January 8, involved three men engaging in moral policing. The victim, a 26-year-old woman, reported the assault, claiming she was gang-raped, abused, and filmed by the assailants. The police have arrested three suspects, while another is hospitalized from an accident post-incident. The remaining suspects are being traced.
The woman, belonging to a minority community, checked into a hotel with a 40-year-old KSRTC driver, her partner of three years. The assault, recorded by the gang, became viral on social media. The attackers, alerted by an auto rickshaw driver, barged into the hotel room, verbally abused and assaulted the couple, and forcibly took them to an isolated place a kilometer away. There, they continued the assault, including the alleged gangrape.
The gang gave the victim Rs 500 and instructed her to go to her native place. She later went to Sirsi, where her husband resides. The accused individuals have no organizational affiliations, and the arrested ones have no prior criminal records, according to the police. The FIR includes sections on kidnap and assault in addition to gangrape.
