Image showing handcuffs. For representational purposes.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: After a weeklong manhunt, Bengaluru police have tracked down a 29-year-old man who allegedly molested a college student walking the streets of Suddaguntepalya on April 3.
The incident came into focus after a viral video and Home Minister G Parameshwara controversially tried to play it down four days later.
Police identified the suspect as Santosh D., a resident of Gulbarga Colony near Tilaknagar. He worked as a driver at an automobile showroom near Brookefield.
Sarah Fathiema, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), confirmed the arrest and said a police team would bring him back to Bengaluru on Monday morning.
Police investigations show that Santosh had taken shelter at a friend’s house in Naduvannur village in Kozhikode, citing an emergency back home.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Santosh was drunk on the night of the offence and had tailed the two women walking home on a desolate street of Bharathi Layout. He initially tried to strike up a conversation with them, but the women ignored him and started walking faster. He then accosted and groped one of them but fled the scene after she raised an alarm.
The incident surfaced after a local resident posted the CCTV footage. The police’s social media monitoring team asked him to file a complaint.
In a quirky twist, police are planning to file a criminal case against the resident for sharing the video on social media after the victims objected to it, a police officer close to the investigation said.
Police formed five teams comprising 70 officers to track down the suspect. Each team was given specific tasks such as CCTV reviewing, phone number tracing, victim identification and so on. Fathiema said that the gravity of the incident had prompted the police to mobilise such a large team.
The teams reviewed over 600 CCTV cameras in SG Palya, Madiwala, Tilaknagar, Bommanahalli and Adugodi and identified his clothes.
The breakthrough came when police found footage of his riding his scooter. To establish his identity, they showed the scooter picture to garages in Tilaknagar and SG Palya. One of the mechanics positively identified him.
Santosh fled on his scooter parked on the next street. He switched off his phone and went into hiding.
However, an April 8 Kannada news broadcast revealed his photograph, prompting him to leave Bengaluru. He boarded a bus to Hosur and stayed there for a day. He later moved to Salem and stayed there for a day, confusing the police.
Santosh eventually absconded to Kerala and took shelter at a friend's place, cooking up the story of a family dispute. Police managed to contact one of his friends and learnt about his whereabouts, which led them to Kozhikode.
"It was hard for us to track him because he didn’t switch on his phone even once and kept changing his location. However, classic groundwork in Tamil Nadu with help from informants helped us," the officer close to the investigation told DH.
All in 10 days
April 3: Incident took place in SG Palya
April 5: Video uploaded on social media
April 6: Resident files complaint
April 7: Parameshwara's statement
April 9: News channels air suspect's photos; he flees Bengalur
April 10: Suspect reaches Salem
April 11: Reaches Kozhikode
April 13: Arrested from Kozhikode