Bulandshahr/New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday claimed to have held three of the accused involved in the brutal gangrape of a woman and her teenage daughter by bandits on gunpoint on Friday night after dragging the family out of a car near here, even as the Samajwadi Party government came under intense flak over the incident.
Uttar Pradesh DGP Javeed Ahmed, who was rushed to Bulandshahr by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after the incident at village Dostpur here on Delhi-Kanpur highway came into limelight, identified the three detained as Naresh, 25, Bablu, 22, and Rais, 28.
The incident took place on Friday night when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a group of robbers in Bulandshahr district.
The victims were on their way from Noida to Shahjahanpur with other family members when their vehicle was stopped near a cycle repairing shop in Dostpur village on NH-9, which connects Noida and Bulandshahr.
He said police had taken into custody 15 persons, all of them belonging to a nomadic tribe, on Saturday evening and interrogated them. Three of the those held who belonged to Bawariya gang have been identified by the victims and all the culprits would be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), he said.
In wake of the incident, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had directed the station heads related to the incident to be suspended. As per sources, Bulandshahr's SSP, CO and Inspector have been suspended.
DGP Javeed Ahmed said there were three women at the spot, adding one among them was an elderly woman.
UP gangrape: Jungle Raj in UP, cries Opposition
Taking cognisance of the brutal gangrape of a woman and her teenage daughter by bandits on gunpoint on Friday night, the National Commission for Women said it has sent a member to meet the victims and officials in Uttar Pradesh but added that it finds little cooperation from the state administration in such cases.
NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam also questioned the genuineness of the detentions made by police in the case. Opposition parties alleged that the “barbaric” incident showed that “goonda raj” was at its peak in the state where Assembly elections were due in early 2017.
BJP criticised the state government for laying expressways and highways without caring for the safety and security of the users, while BSP said such heinous crimes indicated towards deteriorating law and order situation and ‘jungle raj’ in the state.
Hitting out at the Akhilesh Yadav government, Union minister Mahesh Sharma said, “When will this end? It shows that the state government has collapsed on every front. They cannot save the honour of a daughter. It is shameful and they should step down”.
“The SP government and its head must tell the people if they can return the modesty of women in such a painful and henious crime,” BSP chief Mayawati said.
