Karnataka Home minister Araga Jnanendra said on Thursday that the student who was allegedly gangraped by five men in Mysuru ‘should not have gone’ to the  Chamundi Hill area where she and her friend were attacked on Tuesday. This comes on the day Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said his government had taken the incident ‘seriously’.

“The rape happened in Mysuru but Congress is trying to gain political mileage from the incident. It was an inhuman incident. The girl and her friend must have gone to a deserted place there, they should not have gone there,” Jnanendra said, according to news agency ANI.

The minister added that the girl was in shock and the police are yet to record her statement  “But, police have registered an FIR and all efforts are on to trace (the culprits),” he said.No arrests have been made so far.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, We have sent our senior police officer ADGP Pratap Reddy from Bengaluru, and Mysuru police commissioner and senior officials have been asked to form teams, investigate seriously, nab the culprits and bring them to justice.

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A college girl was allegedly gangraped by five men near Chamundi Hill in Mysuru late on Tuesday and the incident came to light on Wednesday. The girl and her male friend, who was assaulted by the gang, are undergoing treatment in a private hospital.

The  assault started when the two victims refused to give money to the attackers who had followed them to an isolated area in the forest. The two were taken to hospital at 1.30 am.

On allegations that the area was not properly secured by the police, the minister said that he was going to Mysuru and would hold a series of meetings with officials there to try and rectify shortcomings, if any.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai said that his government had taken the incident “seriously” and that the perpetrators will be caught soon and brought to justice.

“It’s an unfortunate incident. My government has taken it seriously. The perpetrators will be caught soon and brought to justice,” Bommai, who is on a two-day visit to the national capital, told reporters.