Amid allegations by some of the accused that they were being framed, the Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday claimed that they had solved the Bulandshahr gang-rape case with the arrest of Saleem, the alleged leader of the Bawariya gang and his two associates.
On July 29, a woman (45) from Noida and her minor daughter (14) were raped on July 29, after they were dragged out of their car by dacoits near a highway in western U.P.
Saleem Bawariya and two gang members, Pervez and Zubair, were arrested late on Monday night, Sujit Kumar Pandey, Inspector General of Police (Meerut), said in Greater Noida on Tuesday.
One absconding
Mr. Pandey said that of the total six accused in the case one still remains at large. Police had earlier arrested three members of the gang — Mohammad Shavez, Raisuddin and Jabar Singh.
“After committing the crime the accused had fled to Jharkhand. We have sufficient proof to show the involvement of the accused which we will present in the court,” Mr. Pandey noted.
Anees Ahmed Ansari, Senior Superintendent of Police (Bulandshahr), told The Hindu that the victims identified Saleem and his two gang members as the culprits who raped them.
Two of the accused, Mohammad Shehvez and Jabar Singh, pleaded innocence before the lawyers in the court where they were presented on Monday.
“We have nothing to do with the gang-rape case,” Shahvez told the packed trial court, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Sohrab, father of Raisuddin, told The Hindu that the police were framing his son in order to solve the case. He claimed that Raisuddin worked as a labourer at the railway yard in Bijnore where the attendance record shows he was present at work on the day of the crime.
