Gang rape at Chamundi Foothill: 20-member team hunts for seventh accused

• Victim identifies perpetrators; still under traumatic state 
• Sixth accused was sleeping with a knife when Police knocked doors 

Mysore/Mysuru: A special team of Mysuru Police is camping at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu to arrest the seventh accused in the case of gang rape of an MBA student at the foot of Chamundi Hill. The accused is holed-up in his den and is already in the know of his accomplices being arrested. 

A 20-member team comprising six Inspectors, six Sub-Inspectors and Constables have branched out in and around the Textile City of Tirupur, tracking the accused. His telephone location is being closely monitored by a back-end team in Mysuru that are tracking every movement and every call. 

Already wary of arrest, the accused has switched off his mobile phone and has not returned home. He has neither approached any of his friends either for food or money while the Police teams have tracked down all his friends and relatives and are closely monitoring their movements and contacts, said sources. 

Identification parade

Meanwhile, in a major relief to the Mysuru City Police, the gang rape victim has identified the photographs of five Tamil Nadu natives who were arrested in connection with the gruesome incident. The photos were sent to the victim by the Police and she has apparently identified the violators. 

Though there is no confirmation from the Police officers regarding this, sources told Star of Mysore that the victim is still in a state of shock but she has identified the perpetrators. A formal identification parade will be held in Mysuru once the girl regains her health and when she is ready to speak. She is currently under treatment at a Mumbai Hospital, sources added. 

Victim tracked for 3 days 

The accused had given a statement that they had called up the house of the youth who was with the girl student at the time of the incident and had demanded Rs. 3 lakh. After realising that they would not get the money, the accused took turns to sexually assault the student. 

According to their statement to the Police, the gang had noticed the victim frequenting the area regularly with her male friend and they had followed the couple for three days and they attacked them on the fourth day. 

Knife attack

Yesterday, three of the accused were taken to Tirupur after seeking approval from the Court and their houses were opened. After examining certain areas in coordination with the Tirupur Police, the Mysuru team collected the clothes of the accused that they wore on the day of the crime. 

The Police are scanning the background of all the accused and their criminal history is being verified along with the case history, present status of the cases and conviction if any. 

While arresting the sixth accused, the Police had to face a knife attack as the accused was sleeping with a knife and as soon as the Police knocked at his door, the accused pounced on the Policemen but was eventually overpowered. Fortunately no injuries were sustained.