Police suspect 4 engg students to be behind Mysuru gang-rape

Mysuru Police suspect four engineering students to be behind the gang-rape of an MBA student near Chamundi Hill area on Tuesday.

One of the four suspects are from Tamil Nadu while three are from Kerala, an officer told Deccan Herald. A team of officers have already left for Kerala where the police suspect the accused are hiding.

The 23-year-old MBA student was allegedly raped by a group of four or five men on a desolate stretch while returning from a forested area in Tippayyanakere region of Lalithadripura area on Tuesday evening. Her male friend who was with her was brutally beaten up by the assaulters.

Also read: College girl gang-raped, boyfriend thrashed in Mysuru

While the woman, who is shock, is yet to give her statement, police have started investigating the case based on the statement of her friend.

Police said the assaulters were drunk and had initially tried to rob the couple after intercepting them on the road to Chamundi Hills. When the couple refused to part with their belongings, they sexually assaulted the woman and beat up the man.

The woman hails from another state and was studying in Mysuru, police said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Basavraj S Bommai said Director General of Police Praveen Sood will directly supervise the case. On Thursday, he had said that a special team is being formed to probe the case and the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.

The incident has triggered a spate of fury on social media with people demanding the culprits to be brought to justice as soon as possible. Adding fuel to the fire, former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said that the culprits should be shot dead in an encounter.

“Culprits in a sexual assault case usually get a jail time and then secure bail. This is not effective to curb such crimes. The government here should take similar action that the Hyderabad police did,” Kumaraswamy said.

He was referring to the 2019 police shoot-out of four people who were accused in the Disha gang-rape and murder case in Hyderabad.

Also read: Why did victim go to isolated place?: Karnataka HM on Mysuru gang-rape

The former chief minister also called for strict rules to be enforced against drinking in deserted areas to stop such crimes.

“This is a lapse on part of the government. Deserted areas should be monitored and people should not be allowed to drink in public like that. The government has failed to curb illegal activities even in rural areas,” he said.