The sole witness to the rape of a 22-year-old postgraduate student after being kidnapped from Fraser Town has received threat calls asking him to back off from giving evidence.
After receiving the calls, the witness, the male friend of the victim, approached Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar, who directed an Assistant Commissioner of Police to register a case and investigate. “I have assured the victim and the witness of giving them security. I have directed the ACP to conduct a detailed investigation and take strict action,” Mr. Auradkar said.
The official said the unknown caller warned the victim’s friend not to cooperate with the police and also threatened him with dire consequences. “We are investigating where the call generated and how they (callers) managed to get the phone numbers of the victims,” a senior police officer said.
Sources said both the rape victim and her friend are in a state of shock and are also avoiding taking calls from unknown numbers after the threat calls were made. They have also blocked their Facebook accounts.
Meanwhile, the Pulakeshinagar police have sought the custody of Hyder Nasir, the prime accused in the case, who is currently in judicial custody for further investigation. “A special team is now on the lookout for four of Nasir’s associates, who were present on Thursday night when he allegedly raped the victim in a car at Cox Town. All the four are on the run and are suspected to have fled the city. They have been identified as Waseem (25), a car dealer from KG Halli; Mohammed Ali (26), a real estate agent from Pillanna Garden; Athiq (24), a car dealer from Fraser Town; and Imtiyaz (22), also a real estate agent from Fraser Town.
“We are trying to track them down and have questioned their relatives and friends to ascertain their whereabouts,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Noorulla Shariff.
Demanding releaseEarlier in the day, a group of 30 women staged a protest in front of Pulakeshinagar police station demanding the release of the rape accused. The protesters held placards and raised slogans, demanding justice. They claimed that Hyder Nasir was innocent and that he had been implicated in the case.
