Yemen national among 2 held for sexually assaulting woman

Victim was drugged before the act by gang of four

A 21-year-old woman from the Northeast was drugged at a popular pub on Brigade Road after which she was physically and sexually assaulted by four men in a car late on Friday night (January 13, 2017). The men later dumped her in Kammanahalli.

The police have registered a case and arrested two persons identified as Ricky alias Thammanna Uttappa and Ayub Ali, a Yemen national.

The incident happened after 10.30 pm on Friday. The victim, a BPO employee, had come to Fusion Lounge pub on Brigade Road, which had a ‘Ladies’ Night’ (when women get free drinks), and was waiting for her friend who later informed her that he would not turn up.

She, however, decided to have a few drinks before returning home. The woman had two shots of tequila and was subsequently joined by three to four men at the pub, one of whom was an acquaintance of the victim. After this, the victim said that she doesn’t remember anything.

The victim woke up to excruciating pain at around 2.30 am on Saturday at a stranger's house in Banaswadi. The  stranger, identified as Lucy, told the victim that she was found screaming and fighting with three men near her house.

“As Lucy was also from Northeast, she offered me help by taking me to her house," the victim told DH.

“Her body bore burn marks caused by some kind of a hot water or chemical substance or an iron box. If these marks were not for forcing her to cooperate, then why would someone hurt a female like this,” asked victim's friend.

The victim says that she was offered drink laced with a sedative. She vaguely remembers that a little after 11 pm, all four including her left the pub arguing. She was forced into a car by a man. She saw the CCTV footage and recognised one of them as her friend Ayub Ali, but could not recognise others, especially the one who was holding her.

“I don't remember anything. I have burn injuries all over my upper thighs and lower back. I have pain in my left chest and a deep cut mark on my right elbow. I also have marks on my shoulders,”  the victim said.

The victim approached the women's police station at Basavanagudi on Saturday. She was told to approach the jurisdictional Banaswadi police who took up a case and arrested two persons based on the CCTV footage.

“Based on the woman’s statement, the police on Wednesday arrested the two and booked them under IPC Section 354 — Assault or force with intent to outrage the modesty of a woman. The car that the men used have also been,” a senior police officer said.

No medical tests
The police on Saturday did not subject the victim to medical examination to prove sexual assault. They instead took her to a private hospital, got her treated for her injuries and sent her home.