Vadodara: The cops on Wednesday launched a massive operation to search for the mobile of the girl who was gang-raped in the Bhayli area of the city. A team of divers leapt into the crocodile-infested Vishwamitri to search for the phone after one of the accused men told the cops that he had thrown it into the river. The search operation lasted nearly three hours near Vadsar Bridge but without any success.
"The accused had claimed that he disposed of the phone in the river, but we couldn't find it. They will be questioned again to verify if the phone was disposed of somewhere else," said Rohan Anand, superintendent of police (rural). A team of cops also searched the banks of the river for the phone the accused had snatched from the girl.
Another police team searched the homes of the five accused in Ektanagar and gathered more evidence. Police sources said the suspects were roaming around on two motorcycles on the night of Oct 4 when they encountered the girl and her male friend at a secluded spot and confronted them. The girl was in garba attire.
While Saif Ali Banjara and Ajmal Banjara left the spot when the girl screamed for help, Munna Abbas Banjara, Mumtaz alias Aftab Banjara and Shahrukh allegedly raped the girl. "Once we get the medical reports of the girl and the accused, we will be able to verify which of the three accused raped her," Anand told TOI. The investigation revealed that the trio went home and slept.
They stayed closer to their homes the next day, police sour.