Balrampur (UP), Aug 13 (PTI) A mentally challenged and deaf-mute woman was allegedly gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district after being chased by bike-borne men on a deserted road, police said. The horror was captured on CCTV, which helped police identify and arrest two accused.
Opposition parties lashed out at the BJP government over the incident, terming it a grim reflection of the state’s law and order situation.
The incident came to light after the 21-year-old woman’s brother lodged a complaint at Kotwali Dehat police station two days ago, alleging that his deaf-mute and mentally challenged sister was gang-raped.
Superintendent of Police Vikash Kumar said an FIR was registered on Monday, and an investigation was launched immediately.
“The route taken by the woman was thoroughly inspected and CCTV footage helped identify two suspects — Ankur Verma and Harshit Pandey. They were arrested following a police encounter and admitted to the crime during preliminary interrogation,” Kumar said.
In the 16-second CCTV footage, the woman, seemingly barefoot, is seen running on a dimly lit deserted road and men chasing her on motorcycles.
According to the complaint, the woman was on her way home from her maternal uncle’s house when she was forcibly picked up by some unidentified men on a motorcycle and raped at a nearby isolated spot.
Additional SP Vishal Pandey said the site of the assault was inspected promptly and the woman was sent for medical examination.
Further legal proceedings are underway in the case, police said.
Opposition parties targeted the BJP government over the incident.
In a post on X, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav called the crime “extremely heinous” and questioned the Adityanath-led government’s claims on maintaining law and order.
He said, “Will those making such claims be able to look the public in the eye and say something in this matter?” Yadav demanded every possible relief, assistance and medical care for the survivor, and said the culprits should be given the strictest punishment without any “fake encounter show”.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress claimed in a post on X that the accused abandoned the survivor in an unconscious state barely 20 metres from a police outpost after raping her.
“In CCTV footage from outside the SP’s residence, it is clearly visible that the survivor was running to save herself while 5-6 men on bikes were chasing her,” it claimed.
“Yogi ji, this is the reality of your women’s safety claims. If daughters are not safe near police stations and the SP’s residence, imagine the reality in the rest of the state,” it added.
The Congress accused the government of being “shameless and incompetent” and said criminals were acting with impunity.
The AAP also criticised the government, alleging that the incident shows that “daughters are not safe in Yogi ji’s rule”.
It claimed that the survivor ran past the SP’s residence while fleeing the accused but was not helped.
“In UP and other BJP-ruled states, the dignity of mothers and sisters is being trampled every day, but neither the government nor police seem to care,” the party charged. PTI KIS DIV DIV
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