Suspect in Nandita death case says he has been wrongly framed

Thirthahalli, Nov 9: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team has expedited the probe into the mysterious death of Nandita, a 14-year old student from Thirthahalli. The team has taken one of the suspects into custody for interrogation.

In the complaint lodged with the police, the girl's father had alleged that his daughter was abducted and molested by three men on Anandagiri Hill near here on the morning of October 29.

The team had quizzed three young men, accused of abducting the girl. During investigation, the team found that two of them were not with the girl when the incident took place. The team is said to have examined the records of the cellphone calls made by them.

The team took the third person into custody to inquire him further. The team reportedly visited Jayachamarajendra hospital in Thirthahalli town on Saturday, where the girl was treated initially after she complained of vomiting.

The CID sleuths quizzed the doctor and staff nurse who treated the girl on October 30.

Meanwhile, Irfan, who was in police custody for interrogation, said he has been dragged into the case for no fault of his.

Irfan, a mechanic, said that he had nothing to do with the case. “Police interrogated me in many ways and this has tarnished the image of my family in society. I am forced to suffer for not committing any mistake.” Irfan said, “My house and
Krishnappa's (father of the girl) house are situated at Balebailu in the town and we are neighbours. We have no vengeance against anybody. However, we have been dragged into the case.”

Referring to the red car, he said, “I have Maruti Zen car and not Maruti Omni as mentioned in the complaint. But my car, parked in front of the house, was stoned by miscreants on November 1, after the death of the girl. A group of people stoned my rented house,” he said.

He said “It hurts me very much as our community members are also distancing themselves from us.”

Referring to the incident that took place on October 29, Irfan said, “I had left home for garage on that day at 9.30 am. Later, I went to Nalur in my Maruti Zen car for business purpose. But the complaint stated that my car has been used to abduct the girl to Anandagiri Hill on the outskirts of the town.

“If it's true, it should have been recorded in surveillance camera installed on Azad Road as all the vehicles have to pass through the road to reach Anandagiri Hill as there is no other route. I request people to allow us to lead a respectable life in society.”

Contradictory claim by girl's father

Meanwhile, Krishna Murthy, the father of Nandita, addressing a press meet in Bengaluru said that his daughter had revealed the name of one of the abductors as Suhan, a 20-year-old youth.

“My daughter had identified the youth, who had been dropping her friend to school regularly as one of the abductors. She told me that the youth, who was working in a textile shop, was one among the three who pushed her into the car,” he said.

He claimed that his daughter had told him that the miscreants had partially emptied her water bottle and forced her to drink from it. However, he said neither his daughter nor he knew whether the miscreants had mixed anything in the water. He also claimed that his daughter had told him that the miscreants had “tortured her in the car”. “No parent should experience such a trauma that we are facing,” he added.

Arguing that the handwriting in the death note was not his daughter's, he said: “Never did she use red ink. There is discrepancy in the way initials are used in the letter. Her sister's name is Nidhi, and her name was mentioned in the note, but later cut,” he said.