Sketch of suspect in Karnataka gang-rape released

In a desperate attempt to trace the three culprits involved in the abduction and gang-rape of a medical student here last week, police Monday released a sketch of one of them, hoping the public would help in nabbing him.

"We have prepared the sketch based on the description given by the victim, who is still in the hospital recuperating from injuries sustained during the incident," Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Pratap Reddy told reporters here.

A major educational centre, Manipal is 5 km from the famous Udupi temple town on the west coast of the state and about 410 km from Bangalore.

Asserting that there was no let-up in the hunt for the accused, Reddy said efforts were on to get the description of the other two culprits from the 22-year-old victim through doctors attending her and anyone who had information on them.

"We are not in a position to interact with the victim directly in view of her health condition. In the absence of specific details on the incident, which the victim can alone give, investigation into the case was not progressing as it should be," Reddy admitted.

The incident occurred when the victim, a fourth-year student of the Kasturba Medical College, was waiting to hire an auto outside the Manipal University campus gate to return to her flat from the library around 11.30 p.m. Thursday

A criminal case was registered Friday against the accused, including an auto driver under sections 366 and 376 (abduction and rape) read with 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint by the victim to the local police station.

"We are waiting for the girl to recover completely to question her on the incident and record her statement," Reddy added.

Through doctors and her parents, police learnt that the accused spoke to her in Hindi but interacted among themselves in a local dialect, which could be Tulu.

Meanwhile, the eight probe teams formed to crack the case have fanned out across the district and the neighbouring areas, including Mangalore to trace the culprits and the three-wheeler autorickshaw in which the victim was abducted and driven to a secluded spot for committing the crime.

"About 20 people have been questioned so far and autorickshaws plying in the town, district and in the region are inspected to identify if any one of them were involved in the crime," Reddy added.