‘Forcibly Kissed, Dragged, Phone Snatched’: Bengaluru Engineering Student Allegedly Raped on Campus

A 21-year-old engineering student from a private college in South Bengaluru has been arrested for allegedly raping his classmate inside a men’s washroom on campus.

Police identified the accused as Jeevan Gowda, a sixth-semester student. He was taken into custody on Wednesday and has been remanded to judicial custody. The alleged assault reportedly occurred on October 10, and the survivor, a seventh-semester student at the same college, filed a complaint on October 15, according to NDTV.

The case has been registered under Section 64 (Punishment for Rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Incident Details

The FIR states that the two students were former classmates, but Gowda had fallen behind academically. On the day of the incident, the survivor met him briefly to collect some belongings. During lunch, Gowda allegedly called her multiple times, asking to meet near the architecture block on the seventh floor.

When she arrived, he reportedly tried to kiss her. As she attempted to leave via the lift, he allegedly followed her to the sixth floor, dragged her into a men’s toilet, locked the door, and sexually assaulted her. The accused is also said to have taken her phone when it started ringing. The assault reportedly occurred between 1:30 pm and 1:50 pm.

The survivor later confided in two friends about the incident. She also alleged that Gowda called her afterward, asking if she “needed a pill.” Initially too distressed to approach the police, she eventually informed her parents, who accompanied her to the Hanumanthanagar Police Station to file a complaint.

Police have reconstructed the crime scene, but authorities noted no CCTV cameras were installed on the floor, making evidence collection challenging. Forensic and digital evidence are under analysis.

Political Reactions

The case has drawn criticism from opposition leaders. BJP Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka accused the ruling Congress government of failing to maintain law and order, citing a sharp rise in crimes against women in Karnataka.

Ashoka stated, “In just four months, there have been 979 sexual assaults on girls in Karnataka. Bengaluru alone has reported over 114 cases. Our women and children are living in fear due to the state government’s inaction. From the brutal rape and murder of a tribal girl in Mysuru to the suicide of a librarian in Kalaburagi, this is a moral and administrative failure.”

He added that he has written to the National Commission for Women (NCW), urging it to send a fact-finding team to Karnataka.

The college where the alleged assault took place has not issued any public statement so far.