Police rule out gang rape, take 3 into custody
The special investigation team (SIT) of the Ernakulam Rural police probing the brutal rape and murder of the 29-year-old Dalit woman from Perumbavoor on Tuesday took into custody three suspects including a person living in the victim’s neighbourhood and another from Kannur.
They were taken into custody based on statements by the witnesses and also by tracking call details of the victim’s phone. The police also identified a witness who claimed to have seen a person coming out of the house of the victim on April 28, the day of the murder.
Top officials monitoring the investigation ruled out the possibility of a gang rape and maintained that the murder was committed by a single person.
Single person
“The murder was committed by a single person and we have taken into custody several suspects at various locations. More details of the culprit are being gathered and the arrest will be carried out within two day’s time,’’ said Mahipal Yadav, Inspector General of Police, Ernakulam Range. According to him, the persons in custody were mere suspects and more details would have to be collected before zeroing in on the culprit.
K. Padmakumar, Additional Director General of Police, who inspected the crime scene, a shanty on the ‘purambok’ land on Canal Bund Road at Vattolippady near Perumbavoor, reiterated that the woman was not gang raped as suggested by some media reports earlier.
“Clear evidence pointing to the culprit has been received. We have zeroed in on the murderer and he would be nabbed at the earliest,’’ he told media persons on Tuesday evening, after a meeting with the IG and Yatish Chandra G.H., Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural.
The police have prepared a sketch of the accused, based on descriptions given by a witness who had reportedly seen a person moving around the area under suspicious circumstances soon after the crime took place.
Meanwhile, official sources ruled out the reports about the culprit being a migrant labourer camping in the region. “We carried out an investigation in this direction and collected details of the migrant workers who went missing after the incident. But nothing substantial could be found,’’ said a top officer privy to the investigation.
Details of the culprit are being gathered and he will be arrested in two days, says IG
