Gang-rape may have been stage-managed, say police

A day after the alleged rape at the Jnanabharathi campus, police investigating the case say it could be a stage managed ‘crime’.

Senior police officers do not rule out the incident having taken place, but believe that it was thoroughly planned and deftly executed. There are many loopholes in the case as a few questions remain unanswered and a few claims of the victim are hard to believe, they say.

The officers suspect that someone at the helm of affairs in Bangalore University may have had the suspects execute the crime, so as to divert attention from controversies and to target local police.

Maintaining law and order on the Jnanabharathi campus has proved a big challenge for the City police. They had managed it successfully in the past. But things have become difficult recently.

“It’s a new trend. Varsity higher-ups are behind such incidents, to settle scores with their rivals,” the jurisdictional police said.

The description of the suspects by the victims strengthen the police suspicion. The gang rape episode seems to have something to do with a few unrelated incidents that rocked the varsity over the past two weeks.

Youth to be paraded

“We are planning to parade boys staying in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and BU hostels for identification , if the victim is found to have been gang raped as per the medical reports. We will ask the wardens of BU and SAI to be present during the parade,” an officer probing the case told Deccan Herald.

However, residents in and around Jnanabharathi campus said the incident was the result of the failure to maintain security at the campus. The grounds of the campus are a heaven for criminals, rowdies and anti-social elements once it is dark.

There are only two police outposts for the entire campus spread across 23 acres. There is no patrolling at all at three locations where roads meet. Neither the BU nor the police have taken the security seriously, they alleged.

‘We are helpless’

Officers in the West Division of the City police expressed helplessness saying the Jnanabharathi police limits was too big to manage with the available human resources. The geography is ideal for anti-social elements to indulge in their activities.

Rowdies and criminals from other areas abduct victims, bring them to the campus and commit crimes.

At times, those dejected in life come here to commit suicide. Such incidents consume much of our energies and our staff are never able to patrol the area properly, says a senior police officer.

“Such incidents have created fears in the minds of girls staying in the hostels. We never feel like going out after 5 pm. Even our guardians, who stay in different states, are worried about our safety. We are not in a position to trust either BU or the local police,” a few girls said.

Some years ago, a 28-year-old married woman was raped by a seven-member gang near NLSIU.

The suspects bundled her and her two children into a cab, took her to the Jnanabharathi campus and raped her.

The incident took place when she was returning home after seeing her husband serving a term at the Central Prisons, Parappana Agrahara. Days later, the police arrested all the suspects.