Bangalore law student gangrape case: Absconding accused held

Bangalore, Sep 10: In a major catch, the Bangalore police on Tuesday arrested the absconding seventh accused in the law student gangrape case, that took place last year.

The absconding Raja has been arrested, some 11 months after the incident happened at the Bangalore University campus.

Raja was absconding since October 13 last year and hiding in another state. "He was arrested at Kebbedoddi village near Bangalore when he visited his house to celebrate the Ganesha festival (yesterday)" , City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar told reporters.

"Police have registered three more cases of attempt to murder and dacoity against Raja", he said.

Six of his accomplices were sentenced to life on September 6 by a fast track court in a record 13 sittings with the Judge K B Sangannavar observing that offences like gangrape causes "disfigurement of a human soul."

Raja was arrested when he visited his house to celebrate the Ganesha festival.

On October 13, 2012, a 21-year-old second-year student of National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Nagarbhavi, was abducted and gangraped allegedly by eight drunk men in a forest adjacent to the campus of the Bangalore University.

The incident happened when the girl was in the company of her male friend in a car at Jnanabharathi campus, who was also attacked by the accused before gangraping her.

The victim, who belongs from Nepal, discontinued her studies and left the NLSIU after undergoing trauma from the horrible incident. But, she came to India to give details of the incident to the police and to depose before the trial court.

The six accused who have been awarded life sentence are Maddura, 20, Doddaerayya, 19, Shivanna, 20, Erayya, 20, Yaliyaiah, 23, and Rama, 23. All of them have been booked under Section 376 (2) (g) for gang-rape, Sections 323 and 324 (causing hurt), Section 506 (criminal intimidation) and Section 366 (abduction) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The eighth accused is a minor whose trial is going on at a Juvenile court in Bangalore.

OneIndia News

(With PTI inputs)