The Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday arrested three persons and detained a dozen others as it launched a massive hunt for a gang of dacoits suspected to have gang-raped a mother-daughter duo in Bulandshahr district, a two-hour drive from Delhi.
While police had detained 15 suspects till Sunday evening, three were sent to custody after being identified by the victims, DGP Javeed Ahmed said. The main accused was also identified. Police suspect the role of a nomadic tribe in northern India, the Bawariyas, in the crime.
Seven police officers, including Bulandshahr SSP Vaibhav Krishna were suspended for laxity and failing to crack the case, as the Akhilesh Yadav government under immense pressure, issued an ultimatum to officials. In the shocking incident, a woman (45) from Noida and her minor daughter (14) were allegedly raped on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday after they were dragged out of their car by the dacoits near a highway in western UP.
Along with other family members, the women were travelling to their native place in Shahjahanpur to attend a family ritual when the car was hit by a blunt metal object near village Dostpur on the Delhi-Kanpur highway.
The driver was forced to stop and when he got down to examine the damage, he was surrounded by the dacoits, who overpowered him and forced the car off the main road towards a thicket.
They robbed the family of their cash, jewellery and mobile phones at gunpoint. While the male members were tied up with ropes, the woman and her elder daughter were dragged some distance away and raped.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav deputed his topmost officials, Principal Secretary, Home Debashish Panda and DGP Ahmed, to monitor the manhunt involving 15 special teams.
Mr. Yadav gave the officials a 24-hour deadline to arrest the culprits.
