M A I N   N E W S

3 Nepalese men held for Manali gang rape
MC Thakur

Manali, June 6
The Kullu police on Thursday arrested three Nepalese men for allegedly gang-raping a 30-year-old US national in Manali on June 3 and seized the tipper used by them for perpetrating the crime.

The victim has identified the tipper and the accused, who are in their early twenties. The accused have been identified as Arjun, alias Rocky (22), son of Bir Bahadur (Nepal), Lakki (24), son of Bhagat Ram (Nepal) and Som Bahadur Tamang (24), son of Man Bahadur Tamang (Nepal). While the two accused were arrested from Patlikuhal, around 20 km from here, the third one was nabbed from Mandi. Mobile phones of the accused helped the police in tracing them, said Kullu Superintendent of Police, VK Dhawan.

A team of forensic experts has collected some vital clues from the tipper allegedly used for the crime and sent these to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for further examination. Dhawan said the police first traced the tipper which had a cracked front windshield. “The victim told us that the windshield had got broken while she was struggling to get free from the clutches of the culprits. Also, she told us that seats of the vehicle were torn. All these clues helped us in tracing the vehicle,” he said.

After contacting the owner, we got the details of the driver and finally all three accused were arrested, the SP said. The victim was raped on Monday night allegedly by the accused, who offered her a lift back to Manali from Vashisth where she had gone to visit some friends. The medical examination of the victim had confirmed rape. The victim, who reached this tourist resort along with three other women just a day before the crime, alleged that the men drove her to a secluded spot where they raped and robbed her. 

vital clues

Mobile phones of the accused helped the police in tracing them.

Also, the victim’s description of the accused and the tipper used by them for perpetrating the crime came in handy

While the two accused were arrested from Patlikuhal, around 20 km from Manali, the third one was nabbed from Mandi