BENGALURU: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the rape and murder of the 23-year-old Raichur engineering student, has found leads pointing to the presence of other men, including one from an allegedly ‘influential family’ of the area, along with the accused, who is now in judicial custody. Further investigation, sources said, is on, to determine if the woman was ganged raped before she was killed, as also the whereabouts of the other culprits, involved in the heinous crime.
The woman’s body had been found hanging from a tree in a highly decomposed, half burnt state, in a field near a temple in Raichur. Speaking to The New Indian Express, one of the investigating officers said: “We have found clues, including text messages sent from woman’s phone to another man from the same area. There are also witness statements indicating that the accused, Sudarshan Yadav, was seen with three other men (on the fateful day) . We are trying to access CCTV footage which would help us reach the other three one of whom is said to belong to an affluent, locally influential family.”
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Meanwhile, a team from the Forensic Science Laboratory, Bengaluru, has visited the spot and collected evidence including the alleged suicide note, to be examined by handwriting experts. The family of the student, as well as her friends are upset that the initial investigation was botched up. No mention of the presence of the other man (from the influential family), was made in the FIR, in spite of statements and leads provided by the victim’s friends. The woman’s friends and family are negating the suicide theory, on the ground that she could not have both hanged and burnt herself.
“Can one person try to burn her own body and then hang her from a tree? And do all this while trying to escape? Is it physically possible?” a family member questioned. The woman’s family is also doubting the veracity of the suicide note, written in Kannada, insisting her language of communication or written notes were usually always in English. Quite significantly, the investigating team, has not found any handwriting samples of the woman in Kannada, to compare with the suicide note.
“We could not find a single sheet of her writing in Kannada and all her notebooks had only English,” said an officer on condition of anonymity. The CID is also looking at WhatsApp messages from the victim’s phone which was sent to Sudarshan Yadav’s sister. Through the messages, it is evident that Yadav was troubling her and she had been complaining to his sister.
According to statements given by the victim’s friends, Yadav and the victim were having an affair from past five years. Yadav, who was allegedly very possessive, would get jealous and torture her whenever she spoke to any other man. Irked with this behaviour, the victim had kept away from him for the past five months. Recently, Yadav had allegedly stopped her at RTO circle, held her arm and threatened her with physical harm if she continued to avoid him.
“The field in which she was found on April 16 is about 5 to 6km from her college, behind Manika Prabhu temple. This place belongs to Yadav and that was their regular meeting place. We are trying to find out if he pacified her to meet him for one last time or if he along with few other friends kidnapped her,” said the investigating officer.
Her college friends however remain unconvinced with the theory that Yadav acted alone and are holding several protests to draw attention to the case. Her parents are also insisting on a thorough investigation and have accused the police of trying to cover up the case and pass it off as a suicide. “Our daughter is an extremely strong woman and there was no reason for her to kill herself,” said.The All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) organized a candle light protest.
Timeline
December 2018: Accused Sudarshan Yadav starts troubling the victim after
she begins avoiding him
February 2019: Sends desperate messages to accused’s sister, complaining of mental harassment
April 13: She goes to college
April 14, 15: Parents start looking for her as she doesn’t return home
April 16: Woman found dead in a field, which is about 5-6 km from her college, behind Manika Prabhu
temple in Raichur
April 16: Suicide case registered
April 17: Protests from students of various colleges lead to changing the suicide case to a rape and murder case. 25-year old Sudarshan Yadav arrested and sent to 14 day judicial custody
April 22: State government orders CID probe
‘We want justice’
At a booth in Shakthinagar, some youngsters who were demanding justice for the 23-year-old student who was allegedly raped and murdered, arrived wearing black bands and holding placards. Likith, a youth who sported a black band said, “We want to send a message that even during polls, we have not forgotten the matter and will not in the future.”