Probe against 3 cops for not filing attempt to rape case

A departmental enquiry has been initiated against three police officers of Attibele and Hebbagodi police stations of Bengaluru Rural for dereliction of duty after they failed to register a case of attempt to rape. The victim later died under mysterious circumstances on February 20.

The police are accused of not registering a case though the victim’s kin approached the Attibele police with a complaint on the same day of the incident. An FIR was registered only on March 3, 10 days after the alleged crime.

An enquiry by an Additional Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru rural, has been initiated on Gajendra V, sub-inspector; Y L Rajesh, circle inspector of Attibele police station, and K Vishwanath, circle inspector of Hebbagodi police station.

Victim Roopa (30) died in the ICU of Narayana Health on February 20. Roopa’s father Bhadrappa and her brother Harish approached the Attibele police  the same night to lodge a complaint of attempt to rape and assault, but the police refused to take their complaint, and instead registered an unnatural death case.

Bhadrappa told DH that his daughter Roopa lived with her husband Shiva and their 10-year-old son in Indlabele village in Anekal taluk. On February 20, Roopa was alone at home when her father-in-law Krishnappa, on the pretext of asking for a spanner from Shiva’s tool box, came to her house. As she was alone at home, Roopa asked Krishnappa to come later. Krishnappa then barged into the house and assaulted her and attempted to rape her by tearing her clothes.

Roopa managed to call her mother Jayamma and inform her about Krishnappa’s behaviour. She also told her that if anything happened to her, Krishnappa should be held responsible. Jayamma immediately informed her husband Bhadrappa.

Bhadrappa and Harish, who had gone to a temple in Mugalur in Sarjapur, rushed to Roopa’s house. They found her unconscious and with her clothes torn. The duo then rushed Roopa to Attibele Hospital from where she was taken to Narayana Health as her condition was critical. By evening, Roopa died in the hospital. Bhadrappa suspected Krishnappa had force-fed pesticide to his daughter in order to kill her to hush up his rape attempt. The father-son duo then approached the Attibele police and narrated the incident, but the police refused to register their complaint. An FIR was registered 10 days after the incident on March 3 after a television news channel reported Roopa’s ordeal.

Later, Roopa’s parents approached an NGO who registered a complaint with the state police chief. Based on his direction, superintendent of police, Bengaluru rural, Amit Singh, ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The Hebbagodi police was also dragged into the inquiry as they failed to register an FIR on the same day even after a medico-legal case memo had reached them the same night from Narayana Health.