A 19-year-old student was rescued near Hyderabad on Wednesday based on her mobile phone location as she managed to call her parents, who immediately alerted police, in the nick of time when four men bundled her into a van and later attempted to rape her. The abductors thrashed the women when they noticed the police had closed in on them after they had dragged her into some bushes.
Deputy police commissioner Rakshita Murthy said the student was returning from her college and took an auto-rickshaw thinking it was safe to travel in as an old woman and a girl shared it. “But the two co-passengers got down... After some time, two other men got into the vehicle. When the auto-rickshaw did not stop...where she [the student] was supposed to get down and was going at a high speed, she panicked.”
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The auto stopped near a village, where another man was waiting in the van. The four men then bundled her into the van. The student managed to call her parents, who immediately dialled police helpline number 100 to pass on the information.
Murthy said they immediately alerted the local police, who started tracking the van based on the signals from her mobile phone. “Meanwhile, they [abductors] stopped...and dragged her into nearby bushes. They tore her clothes and attempted to rape her, but when they noticed the movement of police vans in the area, they beat her up with sticks and fled the spot.”
{{/usCountry}}Murthy said they immediately alerted the local police, who started tracking the van based on the signals from her mobile phone. “Meanwhile, they [abductors] stopped...and dragged her into nearby bushes. They tore her clothes and attempted to rape her, but when they noticed the movement of police vans in the area, they beat her up with sticks and fled the spot.”
{{/usCountry}}Murthy said the student was semi-conscious when they found her in the bushes and immediately shifted her to a hospital even as the four managed to escape. “We have formed 10 special teams to apprehend the accused. We have filed an abduction and attempt to rape and murder case under relevant sections of IPC [the Indian Penal Code]. The investigation is on,” Murthy said. Murthy added the woman is safe but traumatised. “She [has] sustained injuries...”
State minister Satyavathi Rathod inquired about the incident and ordered immediate action. She called up women and child welfare commissioner Divya Devarajan and asked her to extend all possible help to the 19-year-old.