Bhopal, Sep 29 (PTI) A rape accused for whom police had mounted a massive search operation, including deployment of a drone fitted with a night vison camera, tried to end his life before being arrested on Sunday in Harda in Madhya Pradesh, an official said.
Sunil Korku (22) was booked after a 5-year-old child was found unconscious near a river under Sirali police station limits on September 23 and doctors treating her confirmed she had been raped, the official said.
A police probe found Korku had lured her with snacks and then raped her in an isolated area. He was on the run since and a reward of Rs 10,000 was declared for information leading to his arrest.
“With the help of villagers, we managed to nab Korku from close to Mata Mandir in Mohanpura area this morning. But before that, he consumed pesticide he found in an agricultural plot. We rushed him to a nearby hospital and then to Bhopal for advanced care. His condition is critical,” Harda SP Abhinav Chouksey told PTI.
Sources said villagers wanted to thrash him but police managed to take him into their custody before any untoward incident could take place.
Over the past one week, some 200 police personnel were scouring a densely forested patch in Sirali to nab Korku The search operation included use of a thermal imaging drone fitted with night vision camera for three nights, officials had earlier said.
The drone with thermal image camera was procured from the Bhopal-based Madhya Pradesh Electronic Development Corporation, a senior official had said.
“It has thermal sensors. Normal human body temperature can be set in it. With its help, it is easy to find humans in a dense area,” he said. PTI COR LAL BNM
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