Rewari gang rape: Main accused elusive, two others held

Three persons accused in the gang-rape of a board examination topper last week continued to elude Haryana Police on Sunday as two others were arrested in the case and Rewari SP Rajesh Duggal wasreplaced by Rahul Sharma.

Even as police said they were raiding suspected hideouts of three main absconding accused -- soldier Pankaj, Manish and Nishu -- who committed the crime on Wednesday, the 19-year-old woman's family on Sunday rejected the compensation cheque for Rs 2 lakh sent by the Haryana government.

"Is it the price that the Haryana government has calculated for the gruesome crime committed against my daughter? We reject the compensation. I want justice for my daughter," her mother said in Rewari, nearly 350 km from here.

Doctors at a Rewari hospital said that the condition of the victim, a college student, had improved though she continued to be in "shock".

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Sunday that two arrests have been made in this case, including Deendayal, owner of a tubewell room where the gang rape took place in Mahendragarh district, and medical practitioner Sanjay Kumar who treated the victim after the crime.

Police accused Deendayal of handing over keys of the room to the accused on September 12. Police claimed that the medical practitioner treated the victim after her condition deteriorated following the gang rape and that both did not inform police despite in the know of the crime.

Police claimed it was questioning the relatives, friends and co-villagers of the three accused to know their whereabouts. Nearly 100 persons have been questioned, Special Investigating Team chief Nazneen Bhasin told the media in Rewari. She said that a medical examination of the woman had confirmed rape.

Police had earlier announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for providing information on the absconding accused, all residents of Kanina village.

Haryana Director General of Police B.S. Sandhu admitted to lapses on part of police in Rewari and Mahendragarh districts due to which the accused absconded.

Haryana Police has faced flak for treating the gang rape casually initially by citing jurisdictional issues, losing crucial time and evidence to nab the accused.

Earlier, Khattar on Sunday cancelled his engagements in Jalandhar city in neighbouring Punjab and rushed back to Chandigarh to take stock of the situation.

The victim, who has identified her attackers, and her parents had said earlier that police were not taking action and were dealing with the matter casually.

The family alleged that 8-10 men could be involved in the gang rape.

The accused, who belong to the same village as the victim and knew her, allegedly kidnapped the victim from Kanina bus stand while she was on her way for coaching classes on Wednesday.

She said that they gave her sedative-laced water to drink and gang-raped her in a room in agricultural fields till she fell unconscious. They later dumped her at a bus stop near her village.

Accused Manish even called up her father and told him to pick her from the bus stand. The victim had topped board examinations and was felicitated by the government for her academic achievement.

--IANS

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