URBANA, Illinois – A U. of I. student was arrested Friday afternoon for filing a false police report after claiming on Thursday that he was robbed at gunpoint on campus.
Initially, a U. of I. student called 911 just before 11 p.m. Thursday to report that he was approached by a man in the 800 block of South Wright Street, Champaign, who demanded cash and threw his cellphone on the ground, breaking it. The robbery report prompted police to issue an Illini-Alert emergency notification via email and text message to all students, faculty and staff.
Upon investigating further, University of Illinois Police detectives found inconsistencies in the student’s story and the available evidence. The student, Aditya K. Rao, 19, of Champaign, eventually admitted to investigators in an interview Friday afternoon that he made up the story about the robbery to account for his broken cellphone.
He was arrested at about 2 p.m. Friday and taken to the Champaign County Jail for filing a false police report.
Please note: Those arrested are presumed innocent until proved guilty, and formal charges may change as cases are adjudicated. For more information about the incidents listed here, please contact the U. of I. Police Department at 217-333-1216 or police@illinois.edu.
