A textile businessman from North Bengaluru has been arrested on charges of defrauding a woman of gold and cash worth over Rs 75 lakh and raping her minor sister, the police said Sunday.
The arrested individual has been identified as Subham Shukla, 27, a Rajasthan native who lived in Sadashivanagar. He has been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. He was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
According to the police, Shukla, who operates a textile store in Bengaluru, was known to the victims’ family. An officer, citing the complaint, said, “Shukla initially befriended the younger sister before trapping the 21-year-old woman in a romantic relationship under the pretext of marriage.”
The police said the couple lived together in an apartment for around 18 months. During this period, Shukla allegedly coerced the woman into giving him money and stole 550 grams of gold and cash, together worth over Rs 75 lakh, from her family’s residence through multiple thefts. According to the complaint, after the woman discovered that Shukla was already married and had raped her younger sister, he allegedly confined her in a dark room for four months.
The accused allegedly exploited the family’s trust while maintaining relationships with multiple women. He also defrauded the woman’s sister of Rs 1.5 lakh using her credit card, officers said. After taking the woman’s money, Shukla allegedly subjected her to harassment and forced her out of their shared residence following a confrontation.
The woman then stayed with her grandmother before returning home on November 1. When family members attempted to contact Shukla for answers, he remained unreachable, the police said. With assistance from an acquaintance, they traced his location to Sadashivanagar using mobile tracking data.
The woman’s father then filed a complaint, which was transferred to the police station near Shukla’s residence on December 13.
Story continues below this ad
On being questioned, Shukla confessed to stealing approximately 200 grams of gold and several lakhs in cash, the police said. Further investigation is underway into his online transactions and cash payments.