Mysuru gang-rape case: Bus tickets, call records help police nab culprits

Mysuru: Bus tickets and liquor bottles near the crime scene and call detail record from mobile towers are said to have led the police to the gang that was allegedly involved in the rape of a college student near here on August 24, official sources said on Sunday.

Police on Saturday announced the arrest of five people from neighboring Tamil Nadu, including a juvenile, while they are on the lookout for a sixth suspect.

According to sources, police had begun the investigation based on the information provided by the victim's male friend, who was assaulted during the crime, that the culprits were speaking in Tamil.

During a search of the crime scene, police stumbled upon bus tickets from Talwadi in Tamil Nadu to Chamarajanagar in Karnataka, and also some liquor bottles found at the scene bore the seal of Tamil Nadu excise department.

Besides, analysis of the call detail record from mobile towers close to the scene of the crime, Chamarajanagar and Tamil Nadu, led them to finally zero in on the suspects, they added.

With all these leads, police left for Tamil Nadu on Friday and upon reaching there in the mid-night, they swung into action which resulted in the arrest of the five suspects early on Saturday, sources said.

The five, who frequented Mysuru often for labour jobs, even did loading and unloading at the APMC yard, and were reportedly involved in robbing lone travellers, young couples and women, before returning to their native place.

They accosted the college student and her male friend near the Chamundi foothills on the outskirts of Mysuru on August 24 and tried to rob them. When they did not succeed, they allegedly assaulted him and raped her, police sources said.

Meanwhile, the court has remanded the accused to 10 days police custody.