DU student gangrape case: Accused use 80 SIMs in two phones over three days to evade tracking

Lucknow: Multiple police teams have been dispatched to Jaunpur and Delhi to trace three men accused of gangraping a 19-year-old Delhi University student, with investigators alleging the suspects used nearly 80 SIM cards in two mobile phones over three days to evade surveillance and technical tracking.

Senior police officials said the accused began frequently changing SIM cards after learning that the survivor had lodged a Zero FIR at Anand Vihar Railway Station police station in Delhi.

Investigators said the SIM swapping took place between May 19 and May 21, with the accused repeatedly inserting new numbers in the same handsets to confuse efforts to map their movements through call detail records and tower dumps.

Police sources said cyber and surveillance units are now focusing on handset identifiers and device-level trails, including IMEI analysis, to link the phones to the accused irrespective of the SIM cards used. Teams are also examining digital footprints, contact networks and possible procurement points for the SIM cards.

A Lucknow Police team on Monday brought the survivor and her parents from Jaunpur to Lucknow to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify the alleged crime scene. During the exercise, the survivor reportedly led investigators to a rented flat in the EWS PM housing scheme complex in the Sushant Golf City area, where one of the accused, Sunny, allegedly lived with others and where the alleged assaults took place.

People associated with the probe said the survivor appeared traumatised during the inspection and was counselled by police and support personnel present at the site.

Investigators also said the complainant was acquainted with one of the named accused, Shivam Yadav, prior to the incident.

DCP, South Zone, Amit Anand said the survivor’s statement before a magistrate was yet to be recorded.

“The immediate priority is to arrest the accused,” Anand said. He added that preliminary verification did not reveal any prior criminal history of the accused so far.

According to the FIR, the 19-year-old first-year Delhi University student left her native village in Jaunpur for Delhi on May 15 after holidays and boarded a train from Jafarabad railway station. During the journey, she contacted Shivam Yadav, 20, described as an old acquaintance from her village.

The complaint alleges Shivam and another youth, Sunny Yadav, 19, met her at Charbagh railway station and persuaded her to break her journey and get off the train. The two allegedly took her by cab to the rented flat near a private hospital in the Golf City area.

The survivor alleged she was given cold coffee, after which she began feeling drowsy and was sexually assaulted during the night of May 15 and 16. She further alleged the assaults continued over the next two days and involved a third unidentified youth who was brought to the room later. She also alleged she was threatened with death if she resisted or disclosed the assaults.

According to the FIR, the accused later left her at Charbagh railway station on May 18 after purchasing a general train ticket. During her onward journey to Delhi, she informed her family and contacted Railway helpline 139, following which Railway Protection Force personnel intervened.

Delhi Police registered a Zero FIR under charges of gangrape, administering intoxicants, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The case was transferred to Lucknow Police on May 23 for further investigation.