Bengaluru:
The Uttar Kannada police have claimed to solve the alleged kidnapping attempt of a class 9th girl student of Honnavar.Â
The girl, say the police, confessed that she had fabricated the kidnapping story and had, in fact, attempted suicide.
The girl had complained that on December 14 around 7.30 am two persons attacked her from behind while she was on her way to the school and tried to kidnap her.Â
She said she sustained injuries from the knives the two men carried and due to her strong resistance the duo dumped her and ran away.
At a time when Uttar Kannada district is already witnessing communal unrest and violent protests by the BJP against the mysterious death of 18-year-old Paresh Mesta, BJP MP Shobha Karandalaje immediately tweeted about the incident and blamed the members of the minority community for this incident.
Karandalaje tweeted, "Jihadis tried to rape and murder a girl studying in 9th std near honnavar. Why is the govt silent about this incident? Arrest those who molested and injured this girl. Where are you CM @siddaramaiah?
Jihadis tried to rape and murder a girl studying in 9th std near honnavar.Why is the govt silent about this incident?Arrest those who molested and injured this girl. Where are you CM @siddaramaiah?
— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) December 14, 2017
However, police say the investigation has revealed that the girl has been stalked and harassed by a youth Ganesh Ishwar Nayak, a resident of Bajjikeri of Honnavar taluk, for about 6 months.Â
On the morning of December 8, he had confronted her asking her to get on his two-wheeler, threatening her of dire consequences if she resisted. The girl informed her mother about this who approached a gram panchayat member who assured the girl's mother that the youth would be warned.
The girl did not go to school for 3 days due to the prevailing communal tension in the area. Meanwhile, when she called her friend she learned that there was an exam on December 14.Â
However, she could not prepare for the exam as she was already disturbed by the acts and threats of Nayak.
She was also afraid that if she goes out of the house Nayak might harass her again. With these fears in mind, she decided to end her life and took some thorns from a lemon tree and tried to cut herself.Â
She immediately resented her decision and sought help from a friend. The two went to Magodi to get a bandage for the girl's wounds but her friend got a small bandage which was not enough to cover the abrasions.Â
When the two went to the medical store to return the bandage to get a bigger cloth bandage the owner of the medical store, instead of asking the reason for the injuries, told her that he had seen two people, one of whom had a beard, moving suspiciously in the area. He also told other people in the neighbourhood that they had cut the girl with a knife, and because of the existing communal tension in the area, others who had gathered at the spot too assumed that this was true. Fearing the consequences of revealing the truth, the girl decided to go along with this version.
Hemant Nimbalakar, IG western range said, "Upon medical examination, doctors found that the girl's injuries were consistent with self-inflicted wounds. When faced with these findings, the girl confessed about the nature of the wounds and based on her complaint a case has been booked against Nayak under POCSO Act."Â
Now, police are trying to identify the miscreants who attempted to spread communal disharmony through social media using this incident.
