Three persons have been arrested in connection with a case of alleged gangrape of a 21-year-old Dalit woman, Haryana police said today.
The victim, a college student, was allegedly raped by five persons in Rohtak district on July 13. This is said to be a repeat offence on the woman with two of the accused also involved in the first case of gangrape three years ago in Bhiwani, Haryana DGP KP Singh told reporters here today.
In the latest incident, two of the accused in the Bhiwani case, who are out on bail, allegedly raped her again, along with three other men.
"We have arrested three persons. One more who has been named (as an accused) will be arrested soon. As for the fifth accused, his address is not complete. As soon as we ascertain the address, we will apprehend him," said the DGP, adding that stringent action will be taken against the accused as per law.
Singh said doctors of a Rohtak hospital, where the woman is admitted, have not ruled out the possibility of rape.
"We are treating it as a case of gangrape as per the woman's statement. We will arrest all the accused, get her statement recorded under section 164, CrPC and submit the challan before the court," he added.
Asked about some of the accused reportedly producing CCTV footage to show they were not in Rohtak on the day of the incident, the DGP said, "At the moment, we are investigating the case as that of a gangrape."
Singh confirmed that the victim has lodged a police complaint regarding the horrific incident.
"She was found by the police at Sukhpora Chowk in an inebriated state on July 13. In her statement, she said she was gangraped by five persons who have been named in the FIR. Police lodged a case, took her to PGIMS, Rohtak, recorded her statement and got her medically examined," he said, adding that the police had immediately launched raids and inspected the scene of crime.
Talking about the earlier rape case in Bhiwani in 2013, Singh said the victim had first alleged that she was kidnapped by five boys who took her to Chandigarh.
A case was lodged, the accused were taken into custody but at the time of recording her statement under section 164, CrPC, the victim told the magistrate that she had willingly gone to Chandigarh with the boys, he said.
"A few days later, she approached the police saying she wanted to get her statement recorded under section 164, CrPC again," said the DGP, adding that in the second statement before the magistrate, she alleged gangrape by five persons .
The police took cognizance, arrested two persons and submitted challans against them but could not find enough evidence against the rest of the three accused, he said.
Subsequently, the woman's family approached the Sessions
Court under section 319, CrPC and urged it to name the other three as accused in the case and issue summonses to them.
"However, the court rejected the application and the woman's family went to the High Court which is due to hear the petition today itself," said Singh.
"Meanwhile, the Rohtak incident (in Rohtak) has been reported and we are looking into it," he added.
According to the police, the victim was found lying in an inebriated condition near Sukhpura Chowk in Rohtak on July 13.
On July 14, a case was registered at a women's police station under various sections of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Amit, Jagmohan, Sandeep, Mausam and Akash for kidnapping and gangrape on the basis of the woman's statement.
Investigations revealed that an FIR for kidnapping of the woman was lodged by her relatives at Bhiwani in October, 2013. In that case, police had challaned Amit and Jagmohan who got bail from the court subsequently.
"In the meantime, the present case was registered by the woman against five persons, including Amit and Jagmohan, which is being investigated by a special team. Three of the five accused -- Amit, Jagmohan and Sandeep -- have been arrested. Police have approached the victim to get her statement recorded under section 164, CrPC before the Judicial Magistrate," said a release.
Earlier, the woman's family had alleged that they were threatened by the accused in the Bhiwani case to withdraw the complaint, and as a result, they were forced to shift to Rohtak.
They had told the police that the victim had gone to college on July 13 but did not return. At night, she was found by the police lying unconscious near Sukhpura Chowk with her clothes torn after which she was rushed to Rohtak Civil Hospital.
The victim had told the police that the accused bundled her into a car, drugged her and took turns to rape while she was unconscious.
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Asked if the woman was reluctant to give her statement, the DGP said, "Her mother is saying she is unfit to give a statement but the doctor has said she is fit for it. We are trying to get the Duty Magistrate in Rohtak to record the statement in the hospital itself."
He said the number of rape cases registered by Haryana police until June 30, this year was similar to the number during the corresponding period last year.
"The number of rape cases is the same as that of last year which is around 520. In the last 10 years, rape cases have risen by seven per cent every year, but in the last two years, it has been static," said Singh.
As for cases of kidnapping of women, there has been a three-per cent drop. These cases had been growing by 32 per cent every year over the last 10 years, the DGP said, adding that eveteasing cases have also witnessed a drop in numbers.
