Bengaluru: 'Guru' & wife rape woman for 7 years

BENGALURU: KR Puram police launched a manhunt for a couple who allegedly sexually misused a 26-year-old woman for seven years.
Police on Monday registered a rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation case against Ananda Murthy and his wife Latha based on a complaint filed by the woman's mother. Murthy claimed he was a spiritual guru. The woman came in contact with Murthy at a religious function held at her friend's residence seven years ago. Murthy reportedly told the woman she would face hurdles in her life and she needed to hold some pujas to overcome them.
Trusting him, she visited his house for puja. After having the drinks offered by the 'Guruji', she fell unconscious for a while. The woman later found Murthy and his wife sleeping on the same bed, where she was half-naked. The couple allegedly sexually misused the woman and recorded it on their mobile phone. Later, threatening her with the videos, they raped her several times, police said.
The complainant told police that she learned about her daughter being raped and blackmailed by the couple after her engagement was cancelled a few days back. "My daughter's engagement was cancelled a day earlier. I came to know that Murthy and his wife met my daughter's fiance and showed him the video they had recorded.
They threatened to leak the video if he married my daughter. The couple also met my son and threatened to eliminate our family if we tried to arrange marriage for her with anyone," the complainant said. The couple has gone missing after the case was registered. "We have collected clues about the whereabouts of Murthy and will arrest him soon," said an officer.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)