Karnataka Yoga Teacher's Breathing Techniques Help Her Survive Abduction, Assault, Murder Attempt

A 34-year-old yoga instructor's control over breathing techniques helped her survive after she was abducted near Chikkaballapur district's Devanahalli, taken 30km away to a forest, stripped, assaulted, and strangled by her kidnappers.

In the incident, which occurred on October 23, the victim pretended to be dead, reported Times of India.

Believing they had killed her, her attackers dug a shallow pit, threw her into it, and covered it with only a thin layer of soil before fleeing with her jewellery.

The woman, Rashmi (name changed), managed to wriggle free, sought clothes from nearby locals, and checked herself into a government hospital in Sidlaghatta, Chikkaballapur the following day.

Police have arrested four men, one woman, and a juvenile. According to sources, the abduction was allegedly orchestrated by 27-year-old Bindu, who was suspicious of her husband Santosh Kumar's relationship with Rashmi and asked her friend, Satish Reddy, who runs a private detective agency in Bengaluru, to investigate her.

Satish reportedly befriended Rashmi by posing as a yoga student. On 23 October, he visited her home around 10:30 a.m., inviting her to join him for a rifle-shooting session nearby. Once in his car, three other men and a juvenile joined them, and the group drove to a secluded forest in Dhanamittenahalli, Sidlaghatta taluk. The gang then threatened, disrobed, and assaulted her before attempting to strangle her with a cable.

Rashmi later recounted to police that her quick thinking and mastery of yoga breathing techniques helped her survive by holding her breath and pretending to collapse. The kidnappers assumed she was dead.

In addition to Bindu, those arrested include Satish Reddy (40), Ramana (34), Nagendra Reddy (35), Ravichandra (27), and the juvenile. Satish, Ramana, and Nagendra are from Andhra Pradesh, while Ravichandra and the juvenile are from Raichur district. The accused were apprehended at different locations across Karnataka.