Mhow/Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Three persons arrested for allegedly gang-raping a girl and assaulting and looting young army officers near Jam Gate late on Tuesday night have allegedly confessed to the crime, said the police on Thursday. The trio has also spilled the beans about their three associates. The police have launched a manhunt to nab the remaining accused.
Additional SP (Rural) Rupesh Dwivedi informed Free Press that the arrested accused were Pawan Vasunia (23) and Anil Barod (27) of Gondkua village near Wanchu Point. They were arrested a few hours after the incident. Prime accused Ritesh Bhabhar of Bilami village was arrested on Thursday evening.
Earlier, Pawan and Anil were produced in court which sent them into five-day police custody for further investigation. Teams from five different police stations have been deployed to nab the remaining accused identified as Rohit Girwal and Sandeep Baria of Nandgaon and Sachin Makwana of Chenpur village. An award of Rs10,000 had been announced on absconding accused.
The incident involved two army officers participating in Young Officers (YO) course at Infantry School. They, along with two female friends from Indore, had set out for a night picnic on Tuesday.
The group separated near Ahilya Gate; one officer and a female friend went to a hill, while the other officer and a female stayed in the car. Around 2:30 am, six men approached the car and assaulted the officer. They also robbed him. The police registered a case of gang-rape against the accused on the complaint of a victim officer. However, the victim girl is yet to record her statement.
IG (Rural) Anurag informed Free Press that so far three accused had been arrested and a team was searching for the remaining accused. The statement of the girl was being recorded to confirm rape incident.
Sources claimed that the accused were consuming liquor near Jam Gate late on Tuesday night. One of them, identified as Anil, heard sound of music while leaving the spot. He went close to the car in which the army officer and the girl were sitting. Anil later called his aide Ritesh. It is said that Ritesh was carrying a firearm like object. Later, they called other accused and thrashed the army officer.
They held an officer and a girl hostage and asked another officer and girl to bring Rs 10 lakh. The officer who went to fetch cash informed the police.
