Bengaluru, April 17: Interesting details have emerged regarding the arrest of the accused in the Bengaluru molestation case of two women. Police nabbed the accused, Santosh Daniel, 10 days after the incident, in Kerala, and it has emerged that his home guard girlfriend helped him hide.

After the CCTV footage of the incident went viral, it became a major challenge for the police department to crack the case quickly.

Sources reveal that the accused was in a live-in relationship with the female home guard. Daniel had sexually harassed two young women and then escaped — later seen enjoying life in Kerala. The police have expressed shock over the home guard supporting the accused even after knowing about his act of molestation.

Sources reveal that shockingly, the molester was guided by his lover home guard on how to avoid the police after the incident.

Daniel was found having a good time at a resort in Kerala along with the female home guard at the time of arrest.

To confuse the police, the accused kept moving across four to five jurisdictional limits in Bengaluru. He used a Dio scooter and rode through the lanes of Suddguntepalya, Tilaknagar, and MICO Layout police station limits.

The police tracked his movements and launched a search operation. Just when they thought he was still in Bengaluru, he escaped to Kerala. He fled to Kerala with the female home guard from the Bellandur police station.

Though she was married and had a child, the home guard had stayed away from her husband for Daniel, according to sources. She had been in a live-in relationship with Santosh for three years. The home guard allegedly helped Daniel escape. She even accompanied him to Kerala. Initially, the couple went to Hosur, in Tamil Nadu, located close to Bengaluru.

Upon realising that the police were on their trail, they abandoned the bike in Hosur and fled to Salem. From Salem, they moved on to Kerala.

Police sources stated that the home guard had devised a master plan to avoid detection by police. She advised Daniel not to use his mobile phone. She also suggested folding the scooter’s number plate so it wouldn’t be visible.

When his movements could not be tracked, the special police teams continued their investigation in other directions. The accused, Daniel, was finally caught due to his traffic violation records. The police, who had gone through around 1,000 CCTV footage, identified him through a traffic violation.

They traced the number plate of a bike found at the crime scene, which led them to the suspect. It was the bike that eventually revealed Daniel’s identity. In the initial days of the investigation, the police traced the accused by tracking his bike.

The police sought help from the transport department during the process.

The Southeast Division police wrote to the transport department regarding the Dio scooter. They inquired about how many Dio scooters of that colour were registered in the city. With help from the transport department, the police got more clues about the accused.

Using the vehicle number, they traced Daniel’s home address. The police knocked on the door of Daniel’s house in Galburga Colony, Jayanagar. That’s when they found out that the accused was on the run. Karnataka Police arrested the accused on April 14.

Currently, Daniel is in police custody and being intensely interrogated. The police department has officially not revealed any details about the female home guard yet.

According to the police, they examined over 1,600 CCTV footage clips to track down the accused. Two special teams were formed, and based on technical leads, they searched for him in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The investigation began based on a complaint filed by a resident, Lokesh Gowda.

A video showing two young women being targeted by the accused in the early hours in a residential locality went viral on social media. The 17-second video showed two women walking down a deserted street flanked by houses on both sides. A tall, well-built man approaches them from behind, pushes one of the women aside, sexually harasses the other, and then escapes. The video also captures the visibly shaken women standing briefly to catch their breath before quickly leaving the scene.

The incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on April 4 in the jurisdiction of the Sadduguntepalya police station. The video went viral on April 6.

Nashik, April 16: Police were pelted with stones in Kathe Gali area of ​​Nashik on Tuesday night. The incident took place when the electricity was cut off in the area and taking advantage of the darkness, the mob suddenly started pelting stones on the police and vehicles parked nearby. In this violent incident, three to four policemen were injured, while five vehicles were also damaged. The cause of the ruckus is being said to be a rumor about a religious place.

The police had to take immediate action to bring the situation under control. Around 500 policemen were deployed at night so that the situation does not deteriorate further. It is being told that around 400 to 500 people were present at the time of commotion. The police have also changed the traffic routes in the area to avoid any untoward situation. Administrative and police officials together kept a close watch on the situation and patrolling continued throughout the night.

Sources said that the root of this whole matter is a controversial religious site, which has been under tension for the past few days. The municipality had on April 1 issued a notice on an unauthorized construction following a court order, which said that the administration would take appropriate action if the construction itself was not removed. Despite this warning, the religious site was not removed, causing discontent among the local people and all kinds of rumours.

Officials said that some religious places in the area were constructed without permission and notices were given to remove them, after which the incident took place. All such unauthorized religious places will be removed in the next two days. Nashik Police says that police are taking action to maintain peace in the entire area. Police and administrative personnel are still present in the area and the situation is being monitored.

Bengaluru, April 15: In a shocking case of moral policing, a young Muslim woman was harassed in a park in Bengaluru by a group of individuals for being seen with a Hindu male companion.

The incident came to light after a 2-minute-14-second video went viral on social media on Tuesday. The police are currently verifying the details of the incident.

In the video, one of the men, who appears to be recording the couple, authoritatively asks the young woman to hand over her burqa and is seen threatening her.

The video shows the group approaching the couple and asking the young woman her name. When she tries to hide behind the youth, they question him, saying she is a Muslim and he is a Hindu — how can they be sitting together?

The youth responds that they are friends. One of the men in the group claims that they are more than friends and says he has the full video as evidence.

The man continues to heckle the young woman, demanding that she come to him and reveal her name as he is calling other members of his group to come to the spot. He repeatedly insists that she state her name.

He further says, “If you want to do all this, do it without wearing the burqa. She belongs to our (Muslim) community. Give me my burqa,” he demands.

When the young woman holds her friend’s hand and tries to leave, the man follows them and insists she hand over the burqa before leaving.

He continues to torment her, saying, “What antics are you up to? You want to hold his hand? Do you have any respect for the burqa? I want you to hand it over,” he insists.

“You go to hell — we don’t care. First take off the burqa, then go,” the man is heard telling her.

The woman pleads with them not to create an issue. However, the man accuses her, claiming they had been watching her since she entered a hotel. He questions her, asking how she can behave like that as a Muslim.

On April 11, the Karnataka Police arrested four individuals, including a minor, in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru.

The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a youth from another community. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her.

DCP (West) S. Girish s, “Within the limits of Chandra Layout police station, a boy and a girl were sitting on a bike in front of a park. Upon seeing them, a group of four to five men approached and began questioning them. The woman was wearing a burqa.”

“The accused questioned her about why she was at the location and whether she had informed her family. Based on the young woman’s complaint, we registered a case and arrested the four accused. We have also taken the minor involved into custody,” the DCP said.

Police sources stated that the young Muslim female stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family’s contact information. Her family lodged a police complaint later.