Man held in Kerala for molesting woman in Bengaluru

Over a week after a woman was groped in BTM Layout, the police arrested the 29-year-old accused in Kerala, an officer said on Monday.

In the early hours of April 3, CCTV footage from BTM Layout in Bengaluru showed a man stalking two women and groping one of them outside a house before fleeing. He could be seen trailing the two women at around 1.55 am before committing the offence.

Though the women did not report the matter to the police, the house owner alerted the police after reviewing the footage the following morning. The footage, widely shared on social media, sparked public concern and led the police to initiate action.

On April 6, the police registered a case under sections 74 (molestation), 75 (sexual harassment), and 78 (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

“Five teams were formed to nab the culprit, who was found in a hideout near Kozhikode in Kerala,” said Sarah Fathima, deputy commissioner of police (South-East).

She further said that a special team of Bengaluru police tracked his movements using footage from over 700 CCTV cameras across neighbourhoods including Madiwala, Mico Layout, and Tilaknagar.

“The turning point in the investigation came when officers spotted the accused riding a scooter in one of the videos. The image of the scooter was shared at several garages in Tilaknagar and SG Palya, where a mechanic recognised it and helped confirm the suspect’s identity,” said an officer in the know of the development.

“The police identified Santosh using the scooter’s registration number and confirmed his identity through family members, who told authorities he had been missing. In an effort to evade tracking, Santosh had also abandoned his mobile phone,” Fathima said.

She said the CCTV footages revealed that the accused, Santosh D, a resident of Gulbarga Colony in Tilaknagar, was reportedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. “Working as a cab driver in Brookefield, he initially fled to Hosur in Tamil Nadu to stay with a friend after the video began circulating widely on social media. When the pressure mounted, he fled again — this time to Kozhikode, Kerala,” she said. “He was finally arrested on Sunday in Kerala,” Fathima said, adding that he will soon be brought to Bengaluru for further probe.

The incident sparked public outrage and political heat after home minister G Parameshwara referred to the case as an “isolated incident,” remarking that “such incidents take place once in a while in such a big city” like Bengaluru. The comment drew criticism, prompting the minister to later clarify that his statement were misinterpreted.