Woman gang-raped in Cubbon Park

Guards offered to take her to exit gate

A 34-year-old woman’s desire to join tennis coaching at the KSLTA here inside Cubbon Park  landed her in a nightmare on Wednesday when she was gang-raped by two security guards who offered to lead her to the park’s exit gate.

The guards are of Assamese  origin and are employees of a private security agency which was hired by the Horticulture Department.

The victim, an engineer and a native of Tumakuru, went to the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) office around 6:30 pm on Wednesday to enquire about their coaching programme as she wanted to become a professional tennis player.

The association officials asked her to enrol on Thursday  and also told her that they do not provide accommodation when she requested to stay over at the KSLTA premises, the police said.

The victim then stood for a while in the KSLTA parking lot. The association guards requested her to move out and sought the help of two policemen  who ensured that she vacated the premises.

The park is closed for vehicular traffic between 10 pm and 8 am, and visitors are usually asked to move out of the premises by 7:30 pm.

Around 9:30 pm, the guards from Horticulture Department spotted her near the KSLTA premises and asked her to move out of the park.

When the victim confessed that she was unaware of the surroundings, they promised to escort her to the park exit gate.

The guards instead took the victim to a secluded place and gang-raped her. The duo then left the victim at Siddalingaiah Circle gate that leads to UB City from Cubbon Park.

A sub-inspector on night beat spotted the victim and took her to the police station where she narrated the gruesome incident.

“We displayed the pictures of all the security guards inside Cubbon Park and she quickly identified the duo. We immediately arrested them,” DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil told Deccan Herald.

“The duo aged between 30 and 34 years are from Assam and are employed with Pawan Security Service. They came to Bengaluru four months ago. They have been booked for rape and have been subjected to medical examination,” said a police officer, who did not reveal their names as identification parade is yet to take place.

The victim was twice married but her marriages ended in a disaster. Tragedies in her domestic life had affected her psychologically and emotionally, the police said, while reacting to reports that she was mentally ill. 

The KSLTA stated that the victim had made enquiries regarding tennis coaching at their office inside the park.