The accused in the Sudduguntepalya sexual assault case had planned to settle down in a remote village on the outskirts of Kozhikode with his live-in partner, a Home Guard working at Bellandur police station, but the South East Division police finally tracked him down and arrested him on Sunday, officials said.
The accused Santosh Daniel, 29, was living with his partner in Whitefield.
The police said he had told them that he was drunk and saw the victim walking with her female friend back to the paying guest accommodation early in the day. The duo had gone to have tea and were returning to their PG when the accused stalked them and sexually assaulted them before fleeing the spot.
He then tampered with the registration number plate of the scooter he used and changed his clothes, said the police. But a clue about his shoe and analysis of CCTV footage led the police to locate him at his workplace in Whitefield before ascertaining his identity.
A police team of 70, headed by DCP South East Division Sarah Fathima analysed footage from over 600 CCTVs and zeroed in on Tamil Nadu and Kerala before nailing the accused down in a village near Kozhikode after 10 days.
Meanwhile, a section of media aired the leaked photograph of the accused, causing his friends to alert him. He consulted a city-based advocate who advised him to leavetown city and escape to remote area in the village, said the police.
The accused convinced his live-in partner to accompany him and she agreed to quit her job and join him. She was separated from her husband and was living with the accused in a rented house in Whitefield, the police said.
Even though it was a non-bailable case, the police produced the accused before the magistrate and took him into six days custody to ascertain his criminal background. “The accused seems to be a habitual offender and we suspect that he might have been involved in similar offences before which will soon be proved,” the police said.
The Home Guard was remanded to the State Home for Women and will be questioned later to ascertain her involvement.
Published – April 14, 2025 11:59 pm IST
