BJP youth functionary arrested for rape

Shivamogga: Paper Town police of Bhadravathi have arrested a lawyer and local BJP youth functionary, Bharat B S, on charges of raping and blackmailing a married woman.

The accused, who was on the run, was caught during a late-night operation from a house in Bengaluru.

Shivamogga SP B Nikhil told TOI that following a complaint by the survivor, the accused was arrested and investigation is under way.

Acting on a tip-off, a special police team tracked Bharat to a house in Bengaluru. He was arrested late at night and brought back to Bhadravathi for questioning.

Bharat, who serves as the rural president of Bhadravathi BJP Yuva Morcha, befriended the 23-year-old victim on Instagram. He gained her trust by projecting himself as a close friend of her husband, and he frequently visited the couple’s grocery store, where he allegedly engaged in inappropriate physical contact and continuously harassed the woman.

Bharat allegedly assaulted and raped her at her house on April 11 when she was all alone. After allegedly threatening her, he stopped visiting the couple. The suffering of the woman came to light when the husband noticed that Bharat was blocked on his wife’s Instagram account. Upon questioning her about it, the victim broke down and revealed the trauma she endured.

To gather proof, her husband ingeniously initiated a WhatsApp chat with Bharat by posing as his wife and then lodged a complaint at Bhadravathi Paper Town police station. After the case was registered, Bharat went into hiding, prompting police to launch a manhunt.