Hyderabad, May 13: A home guard allegedly raped and murdered an MBA student in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district, triggering public protests.The girl died under suspicious circumstances while being shifted to a government-run hospital in Madanpalle town Sunday night.Police said Monday they have arrested Shiva Kumar, a home guard with a police station in Madanapalle, and two others on a complaint from the victim's relatives. A police officer said they were investigating the cause of the death, and also if the girl was raped.Tension prevailed in the town as the dead student's relatives, women and residents of the town continued their protest, demanding that the guilty be handed over to them for instant justice."Police are shielding the culprits. They should be hanged immediately to prevent such incidents," a woman protestor said.There was high tension well past midnight as the relatives of the girl staged a protest with the body and clashed with police at the hospital.Five policemen, including two officers, were injured in stone pelting by the protestors, who demanded that the guilty be hanged publicly. Police also used batons to disperse the mob.Local legislator Shajahan Basha of the ruling Congress party also joined the protestors and demanded stringent punishment to the guilty.Senior officials, who rushed to hospital, tried to pacify the crowd with the assurance that strong action would be taken against the guilty and compensation would be paid to the victim's family.The girl, a first year student of MBA, had gone to meet relatives in a nearby village three days ago. She was reportedly known to Shiva Kumar, who allegedly picked her up on his motorbike Sunday. He allegedly took her to an isolated place, where he, along with two others, gang-raped her.The girl was brought to a private hospital in a critical condition and later shifted to a government-run hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
A case of gang rape has been registered and an Agra lawyer has already been detained. Three police teams have been raiding several places in Faridabad, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan and Jaipur to nab the other two men. The victim claimed she knew the lawyer, whom she has named as main accused, for over five years as they both had the same guru. She also claimed that she had gone to Mathura-Vrindavan on December 22 for spiritual healing and was returning home via Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.
"She has alleged that the accused met her in Mathura-Vrindavan and offered to drop her to Delhi. She was instead taken to a flat at an unidentified location where two other men were waiting. The trio threatened her with a knife and raped her," said an officer, quoting from her statement.
The woman also alleged that they even hurt her with the knife when she resisted.
"Later, the trio forced her inside their car and drove down to Delhi. They dumped her in Kalkaji around 9pm," the officer said.
The victim asked a passerby where she was and borrowed a phone to call up a woman in Lajpat Nagar, who then informed cops about the incident.
The victim was sent to AIIMS for medical examination and a case was registered. Her call records were scanned, too, and lawyer's location was traced. By Thursday morning, a team had reached Agra and detained the accused.
But there were counter claims made by the lawyer that got the cops confused. He alleged that he was being framed and that the victim had tried to file a similar case in Agra a year ago which had not materialized as the local cops had not found the allegations true.
Cops are also probing if there is any property dispute between the victim and the lawyer.
