BENGALURU: The accused in the Suddaguntepalya molestation case, Santosh Daniel, was arrested from Kerala by the Bengaluru police on Sunday and brought back to the city late at night. He was produced before a judge at the latter’s Koramangala residence and remanded to five days in police custody.
Currently, the Suddaguntepalya police are questioning him. During the interrogation, Santosh reportedly admitted that he committed the act. After the incident, he had fled to a friend’s house in Kerala, where he was later arrested. The friend, a native of Kerala, had previously worked with Santosh in Bengaluru as a driver.
According to DCP (South East), Sarah Fathima, the incident occurred on April 3 and the police came to know of it two days later. A manhunt was launched, and four teams were formed to track down the accused. When the police started an intensive search operation, Santosh had already left Karnataka and was hiding at his friend’s place in Kerala.
The accused was working as a test driver at a high-end car showroom in Whitefield. On the day of the incident, he had attended a party at a pub and he followed the two women from behind past midnight on 1st Cross, Bharathi Layout, Suddaguntepalya. He suddenly lunged forward and groped one of the women, who was out to grab a coffee with a friend. The two women were stunned, and Santosh took advantage of the moment to escape, DCP Sarah added.
It’s also alleged that a woman Home Guard helped Santosh by informing him about the police search and providing him with a new SIM card.
Santosh had earlier been caught for a traffic violation. Police checked Santosh through 1,000 CCTVs and finally found a lead through a traffic violation with vehicle number KA 05 KY 1251. With the vehicle number, police traced Santosh’s home address in Jayanagar’s Gulbarga Colony. Police visited Santosh’s home, but he had already gone into hiding in Kerala.
After determining Santosh was hiding in Kerala, the police successfully apprehended him. Interestingly, vehicle number, along with other technical evidence, played a crucial role in tracing the accused.
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