Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Jun 6: In an incident that has come to light with some delay, a minor girl attempted suicide due to alleged sexual harassment by three youths.

The girl, unable to face constant abuse, consumed poison at her house in Amasebail, Kundapur on June 2, and is currently undergoing treatment at Manipal hospital. Her condition is said to be serious.

The complaint states that the girl was sexually harassed by Prasad Hegde (30), Prashant Hegde (28), and Vinay Shetty (29). All three are absconding and police have launched a manhunt for them.

The girl, after completing SSLC, was going to tailoring classes. The men allegedly harassed her every day for the past three months. They would call her on phone and whenever they came across her, they would pretend to be in love with her and misbehave, the complaint states.

On June 2, they called her on phone again and pressured her to meet them at some spot. They also threatened to trouble her parents if she did not obey them.

Frightened by the threats, the girl found rat poison in her house and consumed it. The parents, who came to know about it a few hours later in the afternoon when she fell sick, rushed her to hospial.

The Amasebail police who visited the hospital took the victim's statement.

A case has been registered under POCSO Act.

ACP Vishnuwardhan said that investigation is on. "The accused are absconding. We have received some information about their current location and efforts are on to nab them. We will arrested them soon," he said.