Swift Rescue Leads to Shocking Counter-Allegations

BENGALURU — A routine kidnapping investigation in India's tech capital took a dramatic and unexpected turn when police rescued two software professionals from captivity, only to subsequently arrest one of the rescued men on charges of rape.

According to law enforcement officials, 23-year-old B Mahendra and his roommate Tarun, both software professionals and natives of Andhra Pradesh, were abducted in the early hours of Wednesday from the Marathahalli area of Bengaluru. The kidnappers held the duo for ransom.

Police Operation and Arrests

Mahendra's father, B Ramana, promptly reported the abduction to the Marathahalli police station. Acting swiftly on the complaint, a special investigative team was deployed. By leveraging local CCTV footage and advanced digital tracking methods, authorities managed to trace the suspects' location.

Within six hours of the initial complaint, police raided the hideout, successfully rescuing both hostages unharmed. A total of 11 individuals—including a 21-year-old woman—were taken into custody. Investigators stated that the suspects confessed during interrogation to orchestrating the abduction with the intent to extort money from the victims' families.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Galeti Raj Kumar, Marripati Manjunath, Chinigepalli Lokanath, Bandlavalli Suhail, Gangareddigari Narendra Reddy, Shiva Subramanyam, Saleem Pasha, Nayeem Pasha, Shabaz, Gali Rajesh, and the female suspect.

A Counter-Complaint and New Charges

While the kidnapping investigation seemed wrapped up, the case entered uncharted territory when the 21-year-old female suspect filed a formal counter-complaint against the victim, Mahendra.

She alleged that Mahendra had sexually assaulted her between 1:30 AM and 4:00 AM on October 24, hours before the kidnapping incident took place. Following a preliminary inquiry into her statement, Marathahalli police registered a separate First Information Report (FIR) for rape.

Both Mahendra and his roommate Tarun were subjected to further questioning regarding the new allegations, culminating in Mahendra's arrest in the sexual assault case.

Police are slated to produce all the accused individuals connected to the kidnapping and the subsequent counter-case before a local magistrate, where authorities will seek extended custody to probe the intricate web of events leading up to the arrests.