Karnataka rape case: Cabbie took selfie before assaulting woman

Bengaluru: Karnataka Police investigating the alleged rape of a woman traveller by the cab driver of a reputed cab service in Bengaluru, has found a selfie photo with the victim from the mobile phone of the accused, police sources said here on Thursday.

Jeevan Beema Nagar police on Wednesday arrested the cab driver Devaraj alias Devarajulu, a resident of Avalahalli near KR Puram in connection with the case. The accused originally belonged to Andhra Pradesh.

The incident had taken place in the wee hours of Wednesday. The victim when she rushed out of the cab after the incident had grabbed her bag and driver’s mobile. She had submitted the cell phone to the police.

The police are surprised to find the selfie photo on the accused mobile. The accused before committing the crime had clicked the selfie with the victim who in the frame is asleep.

The sources further explained that the cab was booked at 3.20 a.m. on Wednesday by the victim from her friend’s place in HSR Layout. She reached the destination, her home at 3.40 a.m. However, she was asleep and did not realize she had indeed reached her home.

The cab driver who came to wake her up opened the backdoor and saw she was in deep sleep. At this point, he thought of committing a crime and took the vehicle to a nearby isolated place. There he clicked the selfie with the victim and raped her in the backseat of the cab, sources said.

By the time the victim got back to her senses it was too late and somehow she managed to push the accused off and ran towards her home. She reached her home at about 4.45 a.m. The accused also escaped from the scene. But, he came back again to the spot as he found his phone was missing. The accused realized his mobile phone was missing when he wanted to end the trip, according to sources.

The police said that the girl had called up the police station and informed them about the incident. Immediately, the police sent a team with a woman police officer to the house of the victim. The police collected further details of the incident.

The victim was taken to the police station in their vehicle and after registration of the complaint and medical test, police dropped her back at home.

The police have taken the clothes of the victim and the accused into custody and sent them for examination. The preliminary investigations have suggested sexual assault and the police are waiting for medical report.

The accused had come to Bengaluru two years ago for a livelihood. The police are suspecting his involvement in many such cases and are questioning him. Though he denied having committed the crime initially, later he confessed to have sexually assaulted the woman.

The incident has sent shock waves across Bengaluru and the state as thousands of women use cab services during nights.

Earlier, S. Murugan, Additional Commissioner of Police confirmed the arrest of the culprit. Further investigation is on.

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