Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Mar 20: Police led by Kaup police circle inspector Sunil Naik have succeeded in arresting a person, who has been accused of incest. The man in question allegedly had succeeded in persuading his niece to accompany him on a tour, and raped her thereafter.
After realizing that his niece had become pregnant, the alleged rapist had gone absconding from his residence.
The accused is Tirumalesh (34) from Hosadurga taluk in Chitradurga district. The girl who suffered at his hands also hails from Chitradurga. It is said that the accused had escorted the girl under the guise of pilgrimage.
In March last year, the girl and Tirumalesh, who happens to be her maternal uncle, had left their native places ostensibly for undertaking pilgrimage. After visiting various centres of pilgrimage, they had visited Bengaluru. The lady returned to her parental home after being with Tirumalesh for four months. Her family, noticing that she was in the family way, had refused to take her in.
The girl, who was driven out of home by her own parents, went to several places in search of shelter, before coming to Karkala. On seeing a pregnant woman sleeping in the outer precincts of a temple there, the priest provided her shelter and promised to look after her till the childbirth. Fearing infamy from rumour mongers, the priest took the lady to his hometown, Hubballi, and arranged for her delivery in a private hospital there. After delivery, the woman came back. Some locals contacted Child Welfare Committee (CWC) after noticing a child in the priest's home.
When CWC raided the house of the priest, they found the mother-child duo and questioned the woman. After learning her story, CWC ensured that a police complaint was filed by her.
The higher officials transferred the investigation of the case to Kaup from Karkala, dissatisfied by the progress of investigation. The police from Kaup went to Hosadurga and conducted a search for Tirumalesh there. Being a coolie roaming from village to village, the accused was hard to find. However, he was finally found and questioned, after which he confessed to his wrong deed.
The police found that Tirumalesh is married and has three children. While he insisted that it was consensual sex, the lady has stuck to the stand that she was cheated by her uncle.
The operation by Kaup police circle inspector, Sunil Y Naik, was conducted as per the orders of district superintendent of police, Annamalai.