Rape-murder of student at Mumbai hostel: Father seeks CBI probe

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The father of an 18-year-old student who was raped and murdered inside her room at a government hostel in south Mumbai sought probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday, reported the PTI.

The woman's family members visited the Marine Drive police station and demanded action against those 'responsible' for the incident including a warden of the hostel, according to the PTI.

According to the police, a laundry man who also worked as a security guard raped and strangled the woman inside her room on the fourth floor of the hostel early Tuesday morning. He subsequently committed suicide by jumping in front of a train on the nearby railway tracks, police said, as per the PTI.

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The woman's family members, who had initially refused to accept her body, collected it on Thursday for last rites.

"There should be an impartial CBI enquiry. We do not find the current investigation to be impartial," the woman's father, a resident of Akola district in eastern Maharashtra, told reporters, according to the PTI.

"Police say the accused died, but his face can not be seen (identified). Police are saying they identified the accused from a 'kada' (iron bangle) in his hand. Something is fishy," he said, asking why would the accused commit suicide.

Meanwhile, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar visited the Marine Drive police station during the day and met the woman's relatives.

The Social Justice Department of the Maharashtra government which runs the hostel had been very lax and action should be taken against the concerned officials, he demanded in a tweet later.

The Nationalist Congress Party demanded that women police officials should regularly visit every women's hostel in the state to ensure that there is adequate security.

An NCP delegation submitted a memorandum with demands about women's safety to Director General of Police Rajnish Seth here.
Party spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said if such a shocking crime can take place in a city like Mumbai, it is unimaginable what the situation would be in rural Maharashtra.

Women police officials must visit government, semi-government and private women's hostels to review security measures and gather confidential information about the male staff as well as road Romeos in the area, he said.

The victim's father and one of her friends had told the police that the accused security guard, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, used to harass her, the NCP spokesperson said.

Detailed information about staff members at women's hostels who belong to other states must be compiled, he said.

(with PTI inputs)