Bengaluru teachers, friend arrested for raping and blackmailing student

Dubai: In a deeply disturbing case from Bengaluru, two college lecturers and their friend have been arrested for allegedly raping, blackmailing, and sexually assaulting a college student, Indian media reports said.

The accused — Narendra, a Physics lecturer; Sandeep, a Biology lecturer; and their friend Anoop — were arrested after the survivor bravely confided in her parents and filed a police complaint.

The three men were employed at a private college in Bengaluru where the survivor was a student, an NDTV report said.

According to the FIR, the ordeal began when Narendra approached the student under the guise of offering academic help, gaining her trust through frequent messages.

He then lured her to a room belonging to Anoop, where he allegedly raped her and warned her to stay silent, threatening dire consequences.

A few days later, Sandeep began making advances toward the survivor. When she resisted, he blackmailed her with photos and videos allegedly taken during her time with Narendra. He, too, reportedly raped her at the same location — Anoop’s residence.

The trauma did not end there. Anoop, who had allegedly captured CCTV footage of the student entering his room, used it to threaten her and then sexually assaulted her as well.

The survivor, overwhelmed and traumatised, finally broke her silence during a visit from her parents. With their support, she approached the Karnataka State Women’s Commission and subsequently lodged a complaint at the Marathahalli Police Station.

The three accused have been arrested and produced before a court. The case has sent shockwaves through the academic community and sparked outrage across the state, prompting calls for stronger protection for students and swifter justice in cases of sexual violence.

This horrifying incident comes even as the nation reels from another tragic case in Odisha’s Balasore district, where a 20-year-old female student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College died after self-immolating in protest against sexual harassment by an assistant professor.

Despite lodging a formal complaint and staging a sit-in protest demanding action, no steps were initially taken against the accused, Assistant Professor Samir Kumar Sahu, pushing the student to attempt suicide. She succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

Following her death, the Sahadevkhunta Police arrested Sahu and the college principal, Dillip Kumar Ghose, under charges including abetment to suicide and sexual harassment.