Marathahalli police in Bengaluru arrested 11 individuals, including a 21-year-old woman, for allegedly kidnapping a 23-year-old software engineer and his roommate for ransom. B Mahendra, a native of Andhra Pradesh working at a local tech firm, and his roommate Tarun, 23, were snatched from their residence between 2:50 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Mahendra's father, B Ramana, rushed to the Marathahalli police station on the same day to report the abduction, triggering an immediate investigation that relied heavily on CCTV surveillance and digital tracking. The quick response allowed officers to locate the victims within six hours of the complaint.
The twist came during the interrogation of the 11 arrested suspects, who are now facing charges for conspiracy and kidnapping. The group includes Galeti Raj Kumar (24), Marripati Manjunath (23), and eight others, with the 21-year-old woman at the center of a new legal storm. While the men allegedly plotted the ransom kidnapping, the woman filed a starkly different narrative. She accused Mahendra of raping her between 1:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on October 24, a date preceding the kidnapping incident. Police, following her complaint, registered a separate case and subsequently booked both Mahendra and Tarun in this new matter.
The situation has inverted the typical victim-perpetrator dynamic, leaving the rescued techie in police custody alongside his roommate. The 11 kidnapping suspects are scheduled for production before the court, where police plan to seek extended custody for further interrogation. Meanwhile, the rape case proceeds on its own track, with Mahendra now facing allegations that could overshadow his status as a kidnapping survivor. Local legal experts note that the timing of the alleged rape—hours before the kidnapping—suggests a complex underlying dispute, though police have not yet disclosed the specific motive behind the woman's counter-accusation. The next court hearing will determine the custody status of both the kidnapping gang and the techie accused of sexual assault.