Mangaluru: Three persons have been arrested and produced before the Court by the police in connection to a case of cheating a girl.

The arrested by Surathkal police have been identified as Hyderali (44) from Krishnapura, Alex (44) from Vamanjoor and Praveen (40), a bus conductor. However, the main accused in the case is absconding and the police are on the lock out for him.

The absconding accused is identified as Ananthesha Swamy from Bengaluru.

Different provisions of law relating to conspiracy and cheating have been slapped against the accused.

The girl student residing at Madhya village near Surathkal pursuing 2nd year B Com came in contact with a Swamiji through Jyothi, who operates a canteen near her college. The victim girl hails from a very poor family. Apparently she was offered Rs 20 lakh for taking part in a Lakshmi Pooja.

Later, the student was informed that the pooja would be held at Udupi, but later she was taken to Banavasi in Uttara Kannada district. During the puja, she fell unconscious after which she refused to continue with the rituals. Eventually, the accused reportedly dropped her off on national highway 66 near a hotel at Surathkal on January 28. A police complaint in this connection was filed by the girl with the police on February 2.

A complaint was also made to Karnataka State Human Rights Commission, alleging negligence on the part of the police in investigating the case as there was no progress since the first complaint was given.