2 cops taken off gangrape probe for 'misbehaving with complainant'

Two policemen have been taken off from the investigation of a gangrape case of a Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district and sent to police line over allegations that they misbehaved with the complainant, an official said on Sunday.

The 16-year-old was allegedly gangraped on Saturday at a village under Sarai Akil police station limits and the accused also recorded a video of the act, Superintendent of Police (SP) Pradeep Gupta said.

He said the villagers accused the police of "misbehaving with the aggrieved side", following which Sub-Inspector Deepak Gupta and Head Constable Ramnath Yadav were sent to police lines.

The role of another policeman, Station House Officer Manish Pandey, is being probed by the circle officer of Manjhanpur, the SP said.

Narrating the sequence of event, the SP said, the girl was collecting fodder at a neighbouring village for her livestock when three men allegedly attacked her. They then allegedly dragged her to an isolated place and raped her, the SP said, adding the accused also made a video of the incident.

When the girl raised an alarm, some villagers reached the spot and caught one of the accused, while the other two managed to escape, he said.

The villagers beat up the man and handed him over to the police who took him to a hospital, the SP said.

The girl has been sent for medical examination, the officer added.

Meanwhile, ADG Prayagraj Sujeet Pandey inspected the crime scene, and directed officials to form five teams to arrest the absconders.