Karnataka: Two held for rape of class 10 student

Dakshina Kannada: The Karnataka Police have arrested two persons in connection with raping a minor girl, studying in Class 10 in Belthangadi town in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, police sources said on Friday.

The incident came to light at the time of the Covid vaccination and was detected by the medical staff.

The police said that the medical staff at the vaccination centre observed the state of the girl when she came to the centre. After the checkup, it came to light that the minor was pregnant.

She was asked to visit the Mangaluru hospital by the medical staff. The girl disclosed about the rape incident afterwards and lodged a complaint with the Belthangadi police on September 27 against the accused persons.

The accused have been identified as Ravindra, a driver and Yogesh, a resident of Kokradi. According to the police, the accused had forcefully taken the girl to an isolated place and raped her.

They threatened the girl not to talk about it to anyone. Being fearful of consequences, the minor did share the incident with her parents and friends, police sources said.

The police have lodged case under the POCSO Act, IPC 376 (rape by one or more persons) and 34 (criminal act by several persons with the common intention). The investigation is on.