 and actor and former MP Ramya at the launch of unique personal safety enabler App-Ware AVA by Save My Soul.jpg "Bengaluru BPO staffers rape: Cops aim for watertight case")
Bengaluru: The police investigating the kidnap and rape of a 22-year-old BPO staffer have found the spot where the rape took place. The accused have revealed that they took the victim to an isolated place in a village near Kaadubeesanahalli, where they allegedly raped her inside the Tempo Traveller.
The survivor, who had come to the city just three months ago, did not know where she was taken and raped but had only mentioned a few junctions where the accused took their vehicle after kidnapping her. The police, who arrested drivers Suneel and Yogesh in connection with the case, were grilling the duo to know the exact location.
Police sources said that the accused have revealed all the places where they took the vehicle. “They have said that they drove through Agara flyover and passed Kaadubeesanahalli. They took her to an isolated village near Kaadubeesanahalli and stopped the vehicle and raped her. The two will be taken to the spot and mahajar will be conducted on Friday,” an official said.
Meanwhile, after the incident, the accused had also removed the curtains that were put in the TT. “While giving the details of the vehicle, the survivor had mentioned that the windows of the vehicle were covered with curtains. However, when the vehicle was seized, we did not find any curtains. Based on the information given by the survivor, the accused were grilled about that and they revealed that they had removed the curtains and had put it to some other TT, so that the police could not trace them based on the vehicle description. The curtains have also been recovered on Thursday,” the official explained.
“We are collecting minute details from the accused so that we could collect evidence accordingly. We are stressing on gathering evidences that could nail the accused and prepare a watertight chargesheet,” he added.
Further, police teams have also been sent to Chikkamagaluru, the district from where the accused duo hails. The police are collecting information about the antecedents of the accused to ascertain whether they were in involved in any criminal cases in the past.
Complaint against BPO
The Labour department officials have filed a complaint against the BPO, where the 22-year old rape victim was working, for their alleged negligence in providing transport facility to the women employees working in late evening and night shifts. Police said that the Labour department officials filed a complaint after inspecting the BPO
Transport dept acts tough against tempo travellers
Following the horrific rape case of a BPO employee, the Transport department has launched an aggressive drive against tempo travellers. On Thursday, RTO officials were seen removing curtains of many such TTs. The RTO checked over 5,000 vehicles across various parts of the city especially TTs and 270 of them were booked and seized.
Speaking with Deccan Chronicle, Joint Commissioner (Urban) Narendra Holkar said, “We have been launching drives and booking cases against vehicles for various violations and we have intensified the drives now. Majority of the violations booked are against tempo travellers. These tempo travellers were found violating safety norms like plying with curtains and tinted glasses. Many did not have proper permits. There is eagerness among people to go home early and TT's are capitalising on that. People should have patience and wait for BMTC buses.”
The department conducted drives near Silk Board Flyover, BTM Layout, Sarjapur road, Electronic City and surrounding areas. Most of the vehicles were booked for plying with tinted glasses, defective number plates and non payment of taxes, and not carrying valid documents like emission test and insurance certificates. Some vehicles which were plying without registration and without documents were also seized. Keeping the safety of passengers in mind, curtains inside the vehicles and cooling paper stuck on windows were removed.
Safety enabler AVA launched
An app for personal safety named AVA along with its supporting app Save My Soul was inaugurated by S.R. Patil, Minister for Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka on Thursday in the city.
Developed, designed and manufactured entirely in Bengaluru, AVA by Save My Soul is a safety enabler App-Ware. It works using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and syncs with smartphones that have Android OS version 4.4 to 5.1 and iOS version 7 and above. Following rigorous research and development, the team at BMS Innolabs have designed AVA keeping in mind various parameters and scenarios where an individual’s safety may be compromised.
To make the app easy and keep the size small, the device can be activated with a simple click. It can pass off as a key chain or bag charm, not drawing attention to it and alerting a possible attacker to its presence. The device requires a smart phone to pair with the app and work seamlessly. The launch was also attended by Dinesh Gundurao, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies; NS Megharikh, IPS, City Police Commissioner; Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, IAS, Director Sakala and Secretary to Department of Administrative Reforms; Shri Priyank Kharge, Honourable Member of Legislative Assembly, Chittapur.
