Mangaluru: Three persons were arrested on charges of assaulting a woman and illegally confining her, informed police on Sunday April 3.
Speaking to mediapersons Mangaluru Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar said that a woman named Vanaja (40), of Shivamogga origin, filed a complaint at the Woman Police Station in Mangaluru on March 30 about the assault and torture she received at the Maimuna Foundation. He also said that the assault took place within Mulki Police Station limits.
Mohammed Asif alias Asif Apathbhandava (39), Shivam alias Shivalinga (40), and Mohammed Afthab (32) have been arrested based on the complaint, he added.
For the past 20 years, the complainant has lived alone in Mangaluru. She used to work in a mall but lost her job owing to the pandemic. She approached social worker Shivam at Pumpwell for help after she was unable to pay her rent, and he introduced her to Asif. She was then admitted into Asif’s Maimuna Foundation orphanage in Mulki. She has been residing there for the past one year.
According to the complainant, Shashidhar, the orphanage’s then-manager/cum-warden, was involved in financial irregularities and went absconding as the matter came to light. Asif, on the other hand, suspected Vanaja of being involved with Shashidhar and began torturing her both mentally and physically.
Asif asked Shivam hit Vanaja on March 30 for her to accept her involvement with Shashidhar. Shivam allegedly assaulted her following this. According to the complaint, Asif forced Vanaja to sign a false confession stating she was engaged in the crime and threatened to even kill her.
She was taken to the hospital for treatment later and she was threatened not to tell anyone about what had happened. At the hospital, Asif’s friend Afthab coached her to claim that her injuries were caused by a fall. She was ordered to be confined in a room at the orphanage after receiving treatment, but she fled with the help of the ambulance driver.
