Bengaluru: Santosh Daniel, who allegedly molested a girl in Bharathi Layout, half a kilometre from a private university past April 2 midnight, in Suddaguntepalya, southeast Bengaluru, got a new hairdo to evade arrest after CCTV footage of his perverse act went viral.
Police have now arrested 26-year-old Daniel’s lover, a home guard serving in Bellandur police station, on charges of harbouring him.
A senior police officer said Daniel, who worked as a high-end car test driver in a showroom, was in a live-in relationship with the home guard, Shubha, in her early 30s. Daniel, a resident of Gulbarga Colony in Tilak Nagar, had a troubled relationship with his mother, a homemaker, and his younger brother. He met Shubha in 2019 and they fell in love. Shubha’s husband was suffering from health issues, and the couple had a child. She wanted to divorce her husband but both families prevented this. Shubha then began living separately with her child, and Daniel started living with her in a rented house. According to police, he had hardly visited his mother over the past couple of years.
Habitual offender
During investigation, cops found it wasn’t the first time Daniel had molested girls. He is alleged to have sexually harassed at least three women before he targeted the girl in Bharathi Layout. None of the victims in the earlier incidents reported the matter. Police, who took Daniel into custody, are now trying to reach out to them. “We’ll request them to file complaints against him, and will register cases and investigate accordingly.”
One of Daniel’s friends showed him a video clip that was going viral on social media on April 8. Daniel then informed his friend he had molested the girl in question. His friend suggested that he go incommunicado as police were on his tail. Daniel also informed Shubha, who used her knowledge from working in a police station and gave him pointers to evade arrest.
She first suggested he switch off all three of his mobile phones. A lawyer was contacted, and on the suggestion of both Shubha and the lawyer, Daniel cut his hair cut. They assumed that neither cops nor members of the public would recognise him with a new hairstyle. “She claims she gave him Rs 5,000 for his expenses during his run, but we assume it must be more. So, we are waiting for her bank statement. Shubha suggested he must not use digital payment apps or debit card in the ATM as police could track his movements,” a source said.
Journey to Kerala
On April 9, Daniel rode on his scooter to the Tamil Nadu border, parked it in an isolated place, and took a bus to Hosur, where he stayed in a lodge. After a couple of days, Daniel returned to Bengaluru and learnt that police had analysed more than 600 CCTV cameras and were searching for him. One of his friends informed him that the friend who had showed him the video going viral was also interrogated by police.
Subsequently, Daniel took to his heels again, fleeing to Hosur and from there to Salem. He contacted one of his old friends who lived in Kerala and sought shelter for a few days, saying he was in some trouble. He first travelled to Kochi and then to Kozhikode by bus, from where he moved to Naduvilangadi in Malappuram district. His friend in Kerala had no idea Daniel was involved in a sexual harassment case.
Daniel was arrested from Naduvilangadi Sunday.