The Guntur Urban district police and the Vijayawada Police Commissionerate personnel investigating the alleged sexual assault case reported from the Seetanagaram Pushkar Ghat on the Krishna riverbank suspect the involvement of more people in the crime.
The police have taken two persons into custody and are questioning them. “The abandoned place at the Pushkar Ghat is regularly frequented by ganja peddlers, blade batch offenders and rowdy-sheeters. We suspect that more than two people might have assaulted the victim,” said a police officer.
A gang allegedly accosted the couple on Saturday night and threatened them with blades and pocket knives. They allegedly thrashed the boy and sexually assaulted the girl.
“Rowdy-sheeters, ganja and blade batch gangs move on the tracks between Vijayawada railway station and KC Canal junction. They attack the passengers when trains get slowers and rob them of valuables. Later, they consume liquor and ganja on the Krishna riverbank at Seetanagaram,” said a villager.
Police said that the accused had a history of resorting to crimes such as chain-snatching, attacks and thefts.
Caution boards put up
Meanwhile, the Tadepalli municipality and the Guntur Urban police have put up signboards cautioning people not to move in abandoned areas on the riverbank. They have appealed to the women to install the Disha App on their cellphones and alert the police in emergency. The police have also arranged floodlights on the riverbank and intensified patrolling.
