Two held for gang-rape of Vadodara minor

Ahmedabad crime branch on Sunday arrested two persons for the alleged gang-rape of a 14 -year-old girl in Vadodara, police said.

The accused, identified as Kishan Mathasuriya (28) and Jaso Solanki (21), were arrested from Tarsali locality of Vadodara where they lived, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ahmedabad, Ajay Tomar said.

"The duo was arrested from Tarsali locality of Vadodara. Ahmedabad crime branch worked in co-ordination with the Vadodara city police to crack the case," Tomar told reporters.

According to police, the girl was raped on the night of November 28 in Navlakhi Compound area on Rajmahal Road in Vadodara, where she had gone along with her male friend.

The accused thrashed the boy accompanying the minor and then dragged her to an isolated place within the compound and took turns to rape her before escaping.

The police had issued two different sketches of the accused and even announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information about the accused.

"Accused Mathasuriya is originally from Tarapur village in Anand, while Solanki is from Jasdan in Rajkot. Both were arrested from Tarsali locality in Vadodara where they lived," Tomar said.

"We have gathered enough evidence that support their involvement in the crime. As per details gathered from them, they were also involved in past cases of burglary, theft, and fight. We suspect that they were also involved in some other crimes," he added.

According to Tomar, the police used human intelligence, CCTV footages, technical intelligence, and other possible means to investigate the crime, which led to the arrest of the accused.

The accused will be handed over to Vadodara police for further investigation, he said.