By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Three youths dragged a girl, aged 17, into a eucalyptus grove and gangraped her, near her residence in Kadugodi, in Whitefield, on Sunday night. The girl’s screams attracted the attention of a middle-aged neighbour, who had stepped out of her house. Kalavathy (name changed), curious to know where the screams were coming from, followed the sound and found the three youths ravaging the minor. The accused took to their heels when they saw Kalavathy approaching.

Kalavathy took the traumatised minor home, where she revealed the names of the three youths.One of the three youths was caught by the residents before the police arrived. Two others were nabbed by police in the locality, within a few hours.

The arrested were identified as Harish Kumar (22), Venkatachalapathi (19) and Bapin Asarullah Khan (22), all residents of Kadugodi. The three were booked under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, police said. DCP (Whitefield) Abdul Ahad said around 8.30pm, the girl was going to a nearby provision store when Harish followed her and asked her to go with him as he wanted to speak to her.

When she refused, he called his friend Venkatachalapathi, even as Khan joined them. They dragged her into a nearby eucalyptus grove, where Harish and Venkatachalapathi sexually assaulted her, while Khan stood guard to alert them about any passersby, the girl told police.She was taken to a government hospital, where doctors confirmed the sexual assault. The accused were booked under the POCSO Act.