A saleswoman was raped by three men in Hapur, 70 km from Delhi, when she was returning from work in Ghaziabad to her residence in Gautam Buddha Nagar on Wednesday night, police said.
The Hapur police have registered an FIR against three unidentified men under Section 376D of the IPC.
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Till Friday evening, no breakthrough has been made by the police in the case.
According to Sarvesh Mishra, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Hapur, the 30-year-old said in her complaint that she was returning from work in a departmental store in Indirapuram area of Ghaziabad in an auto. “At Lal Kuan border of Ghaziabad, she changed the auto. After one passenger got down, the driver and his two accomplices overpowered her, took her to a secluded spot in Pilakhwa area of Hapur and sexually assaulted her.”
Dropped on NH9
Mr. Mishra said that after the crime, the victim was made to sit in an auto and dropped on NH9. She first reached the Masuri police chowki in Ghaziabad and was then taken to the Masuri police station where she lodged a complaint. The spot of crime, police sources said, was near the Ganga canal that formed the Ghaziabad-Hapur border. “The Masuri police chowki is closer to the spot than the Pilakhwa police station. The Ghaziabad police shared the information with us in the early hours and we sent the victim for medical examination and registered an FIR against three unidentified men on Thursday morning.”
The ASP said no external marks of injury or resistance were found on her body. “In cases of gang rape, many times, victims are not able to offer resistance. It has emerged that the victim is a divorcee and is the mother of a child. At present, she is living with her partner in Noida,” he said.
Mr. Mishra said no physical evidence had been found so far at the sport identified by the victim. “It was night and as the area was new to her, she was a bit confused.” The police were questioning local auto-rickshaw drivers and owners who plied in Ghaziabad. “One of the teams is identifying such drivers. It will take a couple of days. As the victim has somewhat recovered from the shock, a forensic team was sent to Noida to make sketches of the suspects with their help.”
‘Possible lapses’
Local sources said that the Ghaziabad police at the Masuri police station didn’t inform senior officials immediately and took time in informing the Hapur police. “There have been reports. We are looking into possible lapses in responding to a serious case,” said Iraj Raja, Superintendent of Police (Rural), Ghaziabad, adding that in such cases, victims also took some time to give a coherent response.
On the possible lapse in security in Ghaziabad, he said, “There is police checking at Lal Kuan. It seems she took the auto from the flyover on Lal Kuan on NH9 highway. And once the auto crosses the city limits, it becomes difficult to track it. We are providing full support to the Hapur police.”
The distance between Lal Kuan and the spot of crime is around 15 km.
Sources in the Ghaziabad police said the victim must have crossed the city limits around 10.30-11 p.m. “There is traffic on the road at the spot at that time. If she had raised an alarm, it is difficult that it would have gone unnoticed,” said an official, requesting anonymity.
