Enarada, Udupi, June 22, 2013:
Even as the student community of Manipal University and the people of the coastal districts of udupi and Mangalore are trying to come to terms with the rape of a medical student in the campus premises, eight police teams have been set up to investigate and nab the culprits at the earliest.
IGP Western Range Pratap Reddy who revealed this at a press meet today, stated that the efforts to nab the culprits will be taken on a war footing. He assured that the police have obtained certain clues and promised to nab the culprits soon.
He, however, refused to divulge the exact spot of the crime saying giving clues about the spot might hamper investigation.
In the meantime thousands of students from various colleges in Udupi took to streets today in protest against the gang rape of the student on June 20, 2013. The protestors, who went marching till the clock tower, demanded that the rapists should be apprehended at the earliest and demanded justice to the victim.
A Shocker
The Manipal gang rape incident has certainly sent shock waves not only among the student community but also among the parents of students who are studying at Manipal and other colleges. Manipal is educational hub known all over the world and students from different parts of the country and from abroad study at this campus.
Despite the manhunt the police so far have not been able to make any arrests or to obtain any clue on the culprits. The police are not even disclosing the site of the crime saying it would hamper investigation. But in all probability, if it is an open space vital clues will be lost by now due to the delay and heavy rains.
There are also many unanswered questions with regard to the police laxity. The girl was kidnapped at 11.30 and was dropped back at about 2.30am. It is also come to light that a security guard at the campus noticed the girl being kidnapped and alerted college authorities and the police. Naturally, one wonders what the police and campus authorities were doing during the intervening period of three hours when the girl was kidnapped and dropped back after the gang rape. Manipal is a small place and therefore it is not that difficult for the police to trace the places around if they had taken up the matter seriously after the girl was kidnapped. If the police had acted swiftly there is a possibility that the incident could have been averted.
This incident is another blemish on the reputation of undivided Dakshina Kannada District which is reeling under the attacks carried out by moral policemen and also for other such attacks of violence on women.
