The Karnataka police, along with their Tamil Nadu counterparts, have arrested the seventh accused in the Mysuru gangrape case, a Mysuru police officer told TNM. The accused will be produced before the magistrate on Wednesday, September 8, the inspector said. He was arrested in Tamil Nadu late on September 7, and was then brought to Mysuru. The police department had deputed a team to arrest the seventh accused, who was absconding since August 24, after the gangrape of a 22-year-old student.
“The seventh accused was arrested in Tamil Nadu and we will be presenting him before the magistrate today. Further investigations are underway,” the Alanahalli police inspector said. The special police team deputed to arrest him were observing his family and friends for a few days, before arresting him a fortnight after the incident occured. The other six accused were produced before the court on September 7 as their 10-day police custody ended. They were remanded to 14-day judicial custody and are lodged in Mysuru Central Jail, while the minor accused was sent to a juvenile home.
On August 24, the student and her friend were visiting Chamundi Hills, a popular tourist spot in Mysuru. Here, the group of men who were allegedly inebriated, started teasing the duo and then got violent-- they assaulted the friend and sexually assaulted the student. The duo reached the hospital hours later, and a first information report (FIR) was filed by the police on August 25.
Following the incident, protests were held across Karnataka demanding the arrest of the accused. The Karnataka police, which had formed a special team, arrested five accused within four days after they were alerted about the incident. The police began the investigation based on the statement of the complainant, the survivor’s boyfriend. They used bus tickets and liquor bottles near the crime scene as well as mobile phone data to trace the accused. Police officials told IANS that the student is yet to record her statement because she is under distress. The survivor’s friend has identified the accused persons from photographs.