Bengaluru man arrested after 17-year-old complains of gang rape

Police have arrested a 24-year-old man for raping and blackmailing a 17-year-old girl in western Bengaluru. While a police complaint filed by the girl's parents stated that she was gang-raped by four men, initial investigations showed only one person was involved.

Police arrested Devaraj, 24, who works in a plywood store, under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Saturday.

Devaraj and the girl had been in a relationship for four years and were reportedly physically intimate. Things turned sour between them six months ago when the girl decided to break up with him.

In September, he engaged in physical intimacy with her once again and made an hour-long video of the act. He showed her the video and blackmailed her against ending the relationship. He threatened to upload the video to social media if she married someone else.

The girl got scared and told her parents about the blackmail. On Friday, the parents lodged a complaint at the Byatarayanapura police station. They said Devaraj and three of his friends — Shekhar, Basava and Bhairava — had gang-raped the girl.

After preliminary investigations, however, police have come to believe that only Devaraj was involved. "We took up a case of gang rape under the Pocso Act based on the parents' complaint. But the investigation so far shows the other three men were not involved. If we get evidence against them later, we will take the necessary action," an officer who's part of the investigation said. The other suspects have been reported missing.

Another police source said: "The complaint states that the girl was gang-raped by four men known to her. We have taken up a case and are carrying out further investigations."