Mysuru, 21 July  

Three men have been arrested on charges of allegedly abducting and gang-raping a tribal woman from West Bengal, police said on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old woman was allegedly abducted by the trio near the private bus stand in T Narasipura town of Mysuru district, taken to a lodge near Mooguru village where she was allegedly gang-raped, robbed of cash and two mobile phones.

She was later abandoned near her residence, according to a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the T Narasipura police.

The accused have been identified as Kiran, Kishore and Ryan, residents of T Narasipura.

The FIR, registered on 19 July under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), said the alleged offences took place on the intervening night of 18 and 19 July.

Police have booked the case against three accused and have taken up investigation.

According to the FIR, the driver of a grey-coloured car showed her a piece of paper and asked for an address near the private bus stand. Since it was written in Kannada, the woman expressed her inability to read it.

According to the complaint, two men seated in the rear then opened the car door and forcibly pulled her inside. Police said the woman had travelled to Mysuru city to attend a friend's birthday celebration and was returning to T Narasipura by private bus.

According to the FIR, the accused allegedly drove her towards Mooguru village via the Gunja Narasimhaswamy Temple road and threatened to kill her if she spoke or raised an alarm. The complaint alleged that the men repeatedly stopped the vehicle near different hotels to prevent her from identifying the lodge where they eventually took her.

The FIR stated that the three men took the woman into a room at an unidentified lodge near Mooguruvillage, assaulted her and raped her one after another. The accused then allegedly threatened to kill her unless she handed over money, before taking away Rs 5,000 in cash and two mobile phones.

According to police, the woman told the accused that there was Rs 1 lakh at her house and persuaded them to take her there. The FIR stated that the accused dropped her near her residence in the wee hours of 19 July.

Police said the woman alerted her landlord, who informed the police.

The accused allegedly fled in the car after noticing a police vehicle approaching. The woman was first taken to the T Narasipura Police Station and later to an integrated care centre at KR Hospital in Mysuru, where her statement was recorded.