Koppal: The Yalburga taluk health officer Dr Shivakumar V is accused of destroying evidence in the gang-rape case, police said.Police booked the taluk health officer under Section 238(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to knowingly causing evidence of an offence to disappear or providing false information to shield an offender from legal punishment.The incident occurred on Nov 17 and, in her complaint, the 39-year-old victim, a home guard, stated that Laxmana, who owed her Rs 5,000, called her to Kushtagi town under the pretext of returning the money.She stated that he allegedly took her on a motorcycle to a dilapidated house near Maddur village in Yalburga taluk and made her drink juice laced with an intoxicating substance. Later, the other accused joined him and committed the crime.According to the FIR filed by the CPI Mouneshwar Malipatil, police arrested 4 men in connection with the case. The arrested persons were identified as Laxmana and Basavaraj, both residents of Gajendragad, and Mutturaj and Shahikumar from Yalburga.Police said the accused in the gangrape case were arrested within a few hours of the incident, but the role of Dr Shivakumar V in allegedly protecting the accused came to light during the investigation.It was alleged that Shivakumar, an orthopaedic and trauma specialist, got signatures from his assistant on samples collected during the examination of the accused and allegedly made the evidence, including DNA samples, unavailable.Yalburga police are in the process of arresting the doctor.
