Mysuru (Karnataka), August 30: Karnataka Police claims to
have finally cracked the Mysuru Gangrape case. While sharing details, the
police said that they have arrested five persons including a juvenile from
Tamil Nadu for allegedly gangraping a 23-year-old MBA student and assaulting
her friend in Mysuru on August 24. One of the accused is still absconding.
Karnataka’s Director General of Police, Praveen Sood said the
accused were from Tiruppur and frequently visited Mysuru for work. Those
arrested are labourer, driver, carpenter, painter and others who did odd
jobs. They used to come to Mysuru for work at Bandipalya APMC yard, a wholesale
vegetable market, from the neighbouring state. “Before going home, they had the
habit of drinking (alcohol) and partying.”
A case which was being keenly followed by citizens of the
state, and in which many politicians and others who are supposed to be
sensitive about women and tough against the culprits, were found wanting in
their response. Many protest rallies by citizens against the increase in crime
against women and demonstrations were organised to pressurise authorities
following the incident which happened on August 24. A 23-year-old MBA student
(originally from Uttar Pradesh), who was with her friend in the Tippayyanakere
region in Lalithadripura area of Mysuru, was allegedly gangraped by the accused
at around 8 pm.
DGP Sood, while appreciating the officers, said the case was
detected solely on technical and scientific evidence from the incident spot. He
added, “We are yet to collect a statement from the victim, as she is yet to
come out of the trauma. Also, we got some details from her male friend, but
that was incomplete and did not help much in the investigation. He was
unconscious after the assault and the incident happened after it was dark.”
There is information that some of the accused had “criminal
background" and were involved in cases in Tamil Nadu but it needed to be
verified, according to him.
Later, a senior police officer talking on the case, said
that the victim who is not from Karnataka, left Mysuru on Friday, “Defying
doctors’ suggestions, her parents chose to take her to their home state, and
left on Friday afternoon. She was not in good condition to travel, but they
chose to take her with them.”
DGP Sood said the juvenile detained is 17 years old (subject
to verification), but in cases of serious nature, those above the age of 16 too
will be tried in regular court, quoting the change in definition of juvenile
after the Delhi 2012 gangrape case.
Police claimed that there was an attempt by the accused to
rob Rs 3 lakh from the victims, before they assaulted the young boy and raped
the woman. However, there was no blackmail angle to the incident so far, according
to the Police. They will be filing the chargesheet at the earliest.
Officers also hoped to get the victim’s statement at the
earliest. They were appreciative of the staff of Forensic Science Laboratory
(FSL), who have been doing their best to collect additional details.
“A thorough search of the incident site and a collection of
evidence helped us uncover the two tickets, which allowed us to solve the
case". Those bus tickets of Tamil Nadu State Express Transport Corporation
led authorities to contact their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and finally were
able to locate the five out of six suspects in the early hours of Saturday. Also,
the liquor bottles had seal of Tamil Nadu Excise Department, which aided in
catching the thieves.
The investigation involved cops from Mysuru, Chamarajanagar,
Kodagu, Hassan, and Mandya. The Karnataka DGP has requested the High Court to
expedite trial in the case. He said a special prosecutor would be appointed and
efforts would be made to see that the perpetrators get punishment as soon as
possible.
When pointedly asked whether it was pre-planned attack, DGP Sood
said investigations were underway and details would soon be revealed.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered against the accused
under the relevant sections of IPC.