Perpetrators filmed act, blackmailed victim, her friend for Rs. 3 lakh

• Home Minister arriving in city this evening
• State Women’s Commission Chief arrives
• SIT headed by ADGP examines incident spot 
• Mobile tower location of 20 numbers traced
• Area cordoned off; public entry barred
• Victim in deep shock; family arrives

Mysore/Mysuru: In search of clues in the sensational gang rape of an MBA student at Lalithadripura in the foot of Chamundi Hill on Tuesday night, the city Police are collecting crucial evidence including DNA samples from the scene of crime that will be sent to the lab.

Under pressure, the Police are struggling to identify the suspects who are believed to be some local youths who normally survey the area in search of couples who come to spend their evenings. There are dedicated gangs that extort money from such visitors. This gang too spoke broken Kannada that resembled the local lingo, as confirmed to the Police by the victims.  

A Special Investigating Team (SIT) has been formed under the leadership of ADGP (Law and Order) C.H. Pratap Reddy. State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra is scheduled to visit Mysuru this evening. State Women’s Commission Chairperson Pramila Naidu visited the spot and has filed a suo moto case as the incident has sparked outrage at the national level and the Government has come under fire.

Though the Police are not releasing any information regarding the investigation, sources told Star of Mysore that they have been able to trace over 20 phone numbers that were active near the incident spot on that day from 7 pm till late in the night.

Latest reports say that the gang rape victim has been in a state of shock for more than 30 hours. Her parents have come from outside Karnataka and she is slowly recovering at the private hospital, sources added. 

ADGP visit

This morning ADGP Pratap Reddy visited the spot and his team scanned the area for any possible evidence including DNA samples like hair strands. Using magnifying glasses, the team searched the spot closely for over an hour. Entry of local villagers including cowherds and other public was banned as evidence might get lost. The entire area was cordoned off. 

Based on the information from the victim and her friend, mobile service providers have been contacted for Call Detail Records (CDR) and over 20 numbers have been found active in the location on Tuesday evening. “Though not all numbers are of the rapists, we will call all of them for questioning. There might be numbers of local villagers and cowherds too,” a senior Police officer told Star of Mysore. 

Blackmail for Rs. 3 lakh

In their statements to the Police, the victims said that they had gone to a secluded spot near Thippayyanakere when the gang committed excesses on them and one of the rapists filmed the sexual assault on his cell phone. Later, they blackmailed the duo and demanded Rs. 3 lakh from the victims.

The victims told the Police that they were blackmailed for over two hours and the rapists threatened to release the videos on social media. As the victims expressed their inability to arrange such a huge amount, the rapists assaulted them with stones and left the place, they told the Police. 

Before leaving, the accused snatched the mobile phones of both victims. “Teams are now tracing the mobile network and the locations along with the nearby phones with the help of technical experts. We are also tracing the routes taken by the perpetrators to leave the spot and their destinations,” the Police Officer said.