JOIN USSchoolgirl gang-raped, murdered in Vijayapura
The news spread like wildfire after the police got a postmortem done and handed over the body to her family.
Outraged Dalit groups carried her body to Ambedkar Circle, in the heart of this northern Karnataka city, and sat in protest.
The city was on the boil all night, with protesters burning tyres and shouting slogans.
Minister's arrival
M B Patil, minister in charge of the district, arrived on Wednesday morning, met the bereaved family, and announced a government compensation of Rs 8.5 lakh. He promised an additional personal contribution of Rs 5 lakh.
Patil directed Kuldeep Jain, superintendent of police, to undertake a thorough investigation and nab the guilty.
The protesters were not satisfied, and demanded the girl's family be allowed to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, scheduled to visit the city on Wednesday. They said they would continue their agitation otherwise.
They relented only after Patil acceded to their demand. The family took the girl's body to Dargah extension for the last rites.
Gang of six
Deepak Mulasavalagi of Manjunathnagar is the main accused in the case. He and five others took the girl to a house, where they gang-raped and murdered her, according to an FIR filed by the Adarshanagar police.
A special investigating team, led by deputy superintendent of police Ashok, has been constituted to crack the case, Jain said.
Where are the brutes?
The police are tracking the phone of the main accused, and it suggests he is shuttling between Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Dalit organisations are contemplating a Vijayapura bandh on Thursday.
The government will bring the perpetrators of the Vijayapura rape and murder to book, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday.
A statement from his office announced the victim's family would receive Rs 8.5 lakh as compensation "although the girl's life is priceless". Siddaramaiah denounced the crime as "extremely inhuman".