Youth Booked for Alleged Kidnapping of Engineering Student in Udupi, Habeas Corpus Petition Pending

Udupi: Udupi Town Police have registered a case against a youth from Kunjibettu, Udupi, on charges of kidnapping a 20-year-old engineering student. The case was registered based on a complaint filed by her father, a resident of Kodavoor, Udupi.

According to the complaint lodged on 20 March, Godwin Devdas (53) stated that his daughter, a student at an engineering college in Moodbidri, alighted from her college bus at Kukkikatte Junction in Udupi around 6 p.m. and was walking towards her aunt’s house when she was allegedly kidnapped by a youth identified as Akram Mohammed. A bus driver who witnessed the incident informed Devdas about it.

Devdas said he had earlier filed a complaint against Mohammed, alleging harassment of his daughter when she was a minor. He claimed that the recent incident was an act of revenge. Following his complaint, the police registered the case under Section 140(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS).

Addressing reporters in Udupi on Friday, Devdas alleged that his daughter was a victim of ‘love jihad’ and claimed that Mohammed had been in contact with her through Instagram for the past five years. He further alleged that Mohammed had harassed his daughter by threatening to release their intimate photographs on social media and had isolated her from her friends. Devdas also accused Mohammed of being addicted to drugs and having links with a criminal gang.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the police response, Devdas said that despite filing a complaint a week ago, the police had taken no further action. He claimed the police told him they could not intervene since the matter involved consenting adults and showed him a video of the couple living together willingly. “But I am concerned about my daughter’s safety,” he added.

Devdas has filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court, seeking directions to the Udupi Town Police to produce his daughter before the court. The petition came up for hearing before a Division Bench comprising Justices V. Kameswar Rao and T.M. Nadaf on Friday and was adjourned to 4 April.

Meanwhile, Mohammed has applied for registration of their marriage under the Special Marriage Act and has also filed an application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS) seeking anticipatory bail. The Udupi Principal District and Sessions Court has posted the matter to 2 April for objections from the public prosecutor. (eom)