Bar manager, who remembers the group the victim was with, says all drinks were poured by the waiters at the table; the student was raped later that night
Bar manager, who remembers the group the victim was with, says all drinks were poured by the waiters at the table; the student was raped later that night
It was an ordinary Saturday night get-together that went all wrong for the American student who was allegedly
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given a spiked drink and raped this past weekend. But the staff of the Deonar bar, where she spent the evening, is confident that there was no foul play when she was their guest.
The victim and another female foreign student from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) had arrived at Cafe XO with six male friends Dev Singh, Kundan, Anish, Vikram Soni, Jaykyumar Singh Dhullar and Harsh around 11 pm on Saturday.
Talking exclusively to MiD DAY, M D Wasim, the bar manager on duty that night, said, "The girls were regular visitors at the bar. But the men had come there for the first time. They all seemed to know each other well."
Wasim recalled that the group was particularly boisterous, which disturbed some of the other customers.
"One of the men even got into a verbal brawl with another customer, but we intervened," he added.
Wasim said it was impossible for the men to have doctored the woman's drinks at the bar, as the waiters poured the beer for each one of them, which was the only alcoholic beverage they consumed. He added that unlike other alcoholic drinks, sedatives turn beer even more bitter, so are easy to identify.
Wasim said they were the last customers to leave the bar at 1.15 am. The group apparently departed in two autorickshaws for Kundan's flat in Andheri, where the victim was allegedly raped (Read, 'She woke up nude').
Case progress
The police have now arrested Dev, Kundan and Anish and are looking for Vikram, Jaykyumar and Harsh.
"We are confident of nabbing the remaining accused soon. The case is being probed from all angles and rape and other charges have been registered against those named by the victim," said Additional Commissioner of Police (North East Region) Ritesh Kumar.
Dilip Shetty, acting registrar with TISS, said that the institute was taking care of the girl now. "We have been offering her support and counselling her too."
She woke up nude
The victim first realised something was wrong when she woke up around 10.30 am on Sunday. She was nude. Though suspicious she didn't raise an alarm then as two of the boys were still in the flat. She dressed up and left the place and sought help at TISS.
After narrating the episode to the college authorities, she was taken to Rajawadi Hospital where the u00a0u00a0on-duty casualty doctor confirmed sexual assault. Ideally, the on-duty constable should have informed the concerned police station about the incident, but that was not done.
This oversight meant the victim was not admitted to the gynaecology ward of the hospital for further examination, which would have strengthened her case.
The matter was finally brought to the attention of the police on Tuesday evening when she approached the Deonar police station. She was directed to the Trombay police, as the bar was under their jurisdiction before the case was finally registered.
"We would have got sufficient scientific evidence had the matter been brought to our notice immediately, but the delay in registering the case will compel us to look for circumstantial evidence. The police are also confirming if the necessary swabs were collected at the municipal hospital," said a senior police officer.
Who's who
The victim
US student (23), doing her post graduation course in social work at TISS, has been at the college hostel since January.
The friend
Preliminary inquires reveal that the other female student, who accompanied her on Saturday night, was the one who introduced her to the boys a month ago.
The accused
According to the police, the accused all in their twenties have been friends for some time. While Dev is an NRI, who had come to India to visit relatives, most of the others lived in hostels in the city. The flat where the crime took place belongs to Kundan, but none of his family members were home at the time.
Timeline
On Saturday
10.30 pm: The two female students leave the TISS hostel
11.00 pm: They enter Cafu00c3u0083u00c2u00a9 XO bar with the six men
On Sunday
1.15 am: They leave the bar drunk
2.30 am: They reach the Andheri flat the scene of the crime in two rickshaws
10.30 am: The victim wakes up to find herself undressed
12.00 pm: The victim reaches TISS
On Tuesday
After 8 pm: Visits Deonar police station, from where she is redirected to Trombay
On Wednesday
12.30 am: Police register a rape case against the six men
1.00 am to 12 pm: Three of the six accused are nabbed
1.00 pm: Cops leave for Jamshedpur to find the other absconding accused
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