30-year-old gangraped and killed in Karnataka's Tumakuru; Police yet to identify culprits

The body of a 30-year-old woman who was gang-raped and murdered in Karnataka's Tumakuru district was recovered on 24 August. Police, after recovering the victim's body, had initially considered it a robbery and murder case. Later, the postmortem report revealed that the woman was gang-raped before being killed. Investigations were underway.

Notably, the incident occurred on the same day a postgraduate student was gang-raped and her male friend assaulted by a group of youth at the Chamundi hills on the outskirts of Mysuru in Karnataka. While five arrests have been made in connection with the Mysuru rape case, police are yet to identify any culprits in connection with the rape and murder of the 30-year-old in Tumakuru.   

Victim was a mother of two: Police

As per media reports, on 24 August, the victim's body was recovered from an isolated place near a field, after she was reported missing a day prior. Karnataka police had registered a case for murder and robbery, but after a detailed investigation, it was found that the woman was gang-raped before being killed. Police officials added charges under IPC Section 376 (rape) to the list of offences after the postmortem confirmation came out. 

According to the police investigation, the woman deceased victim was a mother of two children and belong to a backward class. At the time of the crime, she was wearing a gold chain, worth Rs. 30,000, which also went missing. Unfortunately, police have not been able to find any witnesses or accused in the case yet and subsequently, no arrests have been made. Police have, however, assured that a probe is underway and those responsible for the heinous crime will be arrested soon.

Mysuru gang-rape

In a separate incident on 24 August, a post-graduate student and her male friend were attacked by a group on the outskirts of Mysuru. While the woman was molested and sexually assaulted by the youth, her male friend was attacked with a stone and severely injured. Five of the six accused were arrested by police on Saturday, 28 August. DGP Praveen Sood informed that arrests were made based on technical and scientific evidence. The accused are residents of Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, and one of them is reportedly a juvenile. 

The Karnataka DGP said, "Fact that one of the accused is a juvenile is still subject to verification and confirmation. Considering the heinous cases like Nirbhaya, even a person aged above 16 years will be tried in a normal court". Further investigation into the matter was underway. 

(Image: ANI/ Representative)