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Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 19
The Chandigarh Police are yet to make any significant progress in the gang rape of the 22-year-old Dehradun girl on Friday in the forest area near Sector 53. The police claim to have questioned over 200 suspects and checked over a 1,000 auto-rickshaws in Chandigarh and the bordering areas of Mohali. However, they are clueless about the identity of the accused.
Top officials said PCR and traffic teams had also been taken in the loop to try and identify the accused whose picture was obtained from the CCTV footage of a petrol pump in Sector 42. Over 20 police teams are said to be showing the picture of the accused around but have failed to get any clue.
Senior Superintendent of Police Jagdale Nilambari Vijay said they had broadened their search to hotels and guest houses in a bid to identify the accused. They were also checking registers of auto stands where daily records of visiting auto-rickshaws are maintained. While many have been questioned, the police have denied having detained any suspect.
The SSP said they were checking the records of auto drivers and cab drivers registered with companies and owners. The accused had not yet figured in any record and could well be an outsider. Local Congress leader Shashi Shankar Tiwari, who is also involved with auto unions, said his union had not been approached by the police. “We will offer full cooperation to the police but why did they show such lax attitude in the past. Checking should have started long back; not after such a horrendous incident”.
Girls switching over to cabs
While many women who use auto-rickshaws are switching over to cabs, they say the primary reason to prefer autos over cabs is the low fare.
However, in the wake of multiple incidents of rape by auto-rickshaw drivers, they are switching over to cabs, especially at night and when alone.
However, women who have to go for work say since they have to travel daily, they have to consider the cost. They have expressed dissatisfaction with the overall public transport system in the city. Mithali, who works as a beautician, says, “The public bus system is poor, autos are unsafe and cabs are costly; one has to travel daily and thus cut on expenditure.”
However, auto-rickshaw drivers say targeting all of them because of a couple of incidents is not fair. Brijesh, who drives an auto-rickshaw in the city, says, “Every auto driver is not a criminal; a criminal is a criminal irrespective of what he does.”
In December last year, a 21-year-old girl was gangraped by an auto driver and his accomplice in a forest area of Sector 29. She had hired the auto from Sector 34 to Hallo Majra.
Accused may have fled via Mohali
While the police continue to grope in the dark in the city, the accused may have fled into Punjab via Mohali. According to sources, the accused stopped at a liquor vend in Phase 2 and purchased alcohol. A salesman at the counter has identified the accused as well. However, the SSP says there is no confirmation about this but they are probing all possibilities. “Not just Mohali, we are investigating possible escape routes via Ambala and other neighbouring areas as well,” she said.
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