Bopdev Ghat Gang Rape Case: Pune Police Arrest Second Accused From Prayagraj In Uttar Pradesh; One Still At Large

In a significant development in the Bopdev Ghat gang rape case, the Pune Police on Monday arrested the second accused from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, while one culprit is yet to be nabbed.

Speaking to the media, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said, "Pune Police have arrested one more accused in the case. He has been nabbed from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The case is being transferred to the Crime Branch unit of Pune City Police. A total of two accused have been arrested till now."

The first arrest in the case was made on Friday (October 11), eight days after the horrific incident took place on the outskirts of Pune.

For the unversed, a 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three men on the night of October 3 in the Bopdev Ghat area where she had gone out with a male friend. The assailants beat up her friend too.

The first accused was a 28-year-old man. He was arrested from the Warje area in the city. He has been remanded to police custody till October 15.

Talking about the case on Friday, Kumar said the police ascertained the identities of the accused with the help of CCTV footage obtained from a hotel on the road leading to Bopdev Ghat. Their faces matched the description given by the victim woman and her male friend, he said.

"After zeroing in on one of the suspects through CCTV footage, we took the help of technical analysis and local intelligence and the identity was established. He was nabbed early Friday morning," he said.

Kumar said that all three suspects had criminal records in theft cases, adding that after committing the crime they took great care to avoid CCTV cameras while fleeing.

"They made a detour of around 80 km just to go to Khed Shivapur plaza on Satara Road which is hardly 20 km from that spot. After they learned on October 4 that an offence had been registered, they fled the city. However, the arrested accused returned later," the commissioner said.

About 700 police personnel were deployed to identify and trace the culprits. The police had also declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information about the culprits.