Davangere, 9 June

A 41-year-old woman was allegedly drugged and gang-raped in this district, following which 10 people have been arrested, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on the evening of June 3 in a village under the jurisdiction of the Basavapatna police station, they said.

The matter, however, came to light only on June 8 after a video of the woman in an intoxicated state, allegedly recorded by the accused, went viral after being shared by them on various WhatsApp groups, police said.

All 10 people named in the FIR have been arrested in connection with the incident following a complaint lodged by the woman, they added.

According to police, in her complaint, the survivor stated that on the evening of the incident, while she was walking towards her village following a domestic dispute, two men approached her on the pretext of offering help.

They allegedly offered her a soft drink, which was suspected to have been laced with a sedative, following which she became unconscious, a senior police officer said.

She was subsequently taken to an isolated agricultural farm on the outskirts of the village, where a group of men had gathered, he said.

The woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the accused and that they also took photographs and recorded videos of her while she was in an intoxicated state, police said.

After learning from villagers that the videos had gone viral, she approached the police and lodged a complaint.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered under Sections 70 (gang rape), 77 (voyeurism), and 190 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, said Davangere, Superintendent of Police Shekhar HT.

"We have secured all 10 accused in the case. Further investigation is underway," he added.

The scene of the crime was inspected to reconstruct the sequence of events and ensure proper forensic preservation, police said, adding that medical examination of the woman was also conducted as per procedure.

The suspects' mobile phones have also been seized as part of the investigation to verify and trace the source of the videos, they added.