Bengaluru police have booked the trio under relevant sections of the IPC (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Key Highlights The engineering students were returning after completing project-work in Mysuru Police officials revealed that the trio attempted to extort the duo The woman was rescued from outside an ATM in Kailancha

Bengaluru: A gang of three self-proclaimed flagbearers of righteousness has been booked in the state capital of Karnataka for harassing and kidnapping two engineering students. In their complaint to the police, the couple claimed that the trio hounded them because they hail from different religious backgrounds. This is not the first time such an incident has come to light in India.

Going by inputs, the girl and boy were riding their motorcycle back home from Mysuru when they took a brief halt on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Road. This is when three men approached them and inquired about their names. Upon hearing that the girl belongs to a Muslim family and the boy, a Christian one, the accused decided to play judge, jury and executioner.

They demanded money from the students and threatened to tell their respective parents about their friendship with someone who hails from a different religion. According to a report by Bangalore Mirror, the girl asked her brother to deposit some money into her account which would allow her to pay the accused. One of the men took the girl hostage and rode around with her on a motorcycle in search of an ATM.

He halted the two-wheeler near an ATM Kiosk at Kailancha and asked the girl to go inside and withdraw the money. Alerted by locals who noticed suspicious activity in the area, local police arrived at the spot and managed to chase the accused away and rescue the girl. Based on her description of the three men, a hunt was launched to catch hold of the trio. The main accused, identified as Suhail, was arrested from Motinagar area of Bengaluru. The other two men were arrested a day later. Inputs suggest that while Suhail owns a sticker shop, his accomplice Muteem is a daily wage labourer. They have been booked under sections 363 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).