The two gymnastic instructors, who the police now claim have confessed to having gang-raped a six-year-old student in a Marathahalli school, were the first suspects in the case and were also arrested before Mohammed Mustafa, the skating instructor. The two were suspected based on the girl’s account and other circumstantial evidence.
Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi confirmed that the two were initially arrested but let off for lack of credible evidence under Section 169 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC). Police sources said medical examination was also conducted on the two gym instructors, but they found nothing to pin them down.
Senior officials said the police, who were under tremendous pressure and groping in the dark after they did not find sufficient evidence against the two gym instructors, were “misled” by Mustafa’s history of misbehaving with children and the child pornography videos found on his laptop.
Sources said the investigators found the case falling apart as Mustafa vehemently denied any involvement in the case and the police had no material evidence to prove his role in the crime. Further investigation led them back to the two gym instructors — Lal Giri and Wasim Pasha.
The police, however, are relying on the girl’s statement and the alleged confession of the two, which may not be admissible in the court.
On July 20, when the police announced Mustafa’s arrest, they claimed they had CCTV camera footage showing him dragging the girl into a room. The police, who have refused to answer the relevance of the footage, have now claimed to have video evidence against the two gym instructors, which, could be used as circumstantial evidence against them.
