Indore, Sep 12 (PTI) Two men were arrested on Thursday in connection with the attack on two young Army officers and the alleged rape of one of their women friends near a popular tourist spot in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, police said.
A manhunt is underway for another four suspects, said a senior official, even as the BJP government in the state came under fire from Opposition Congress over the shocking crime.
Superintendent of Police (rural) Hitika Vasal told PTI that six accused were identified and two of them arrested following the incident that took place late Tuesday night near Jam Gate, 30 km from the Mhow military cantonment.
Nestled in the Vindhyachal ranges, Jam Gate is surrounded by forests. While it attracts a lot of tourists in the monsoon season, it is generally deserted at nighttime.
The two Army officers, aged around 25 and undergoing training at the Infantry School in Mhow, had gone out for a picnic on Tuesday with two women friends when the incident took place.
“The accused held one couple hostage while assaulting them, and told the other couple that their friends would be released only if they brought Rs 10 lakh,” SP Vasal said.
“The complainant told us that the accused then took his woman friend away, and he suspected she was raped. However, the statement of this young woman is yet to be recorded,” the official added.
As per Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rupesh Kumar Dwivedi, one of the Army officers — whom the accused had asked to bring money — informed officials at the Mhow cantonment, and the latter alerted police.
Police rushed to the spot and launched an investigation, SP Vasal said. A First Information Report was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act, and it includes charges of assault, robbery as well as rape, she added.
All the accused are residents of nearby villages and two of them have criminal records, the SP said.
ASP Dwivedi also claimed that the victims did not suffer serious injuries. All four are 25 years of age, he added.
As to the allegation that one of the women was raped, the ASP said, “The woman is in a state of shock and does not want to give any statement right now. We will take appropriate action after recording her statement.
“The accused had snatched the mobile phones of the four persons but later returned the devices to the victims,” he said, adding that the accused perhaps feared that police would trace them quickly by tracking the location of the mobiles.
Seeing a police team reaching the spot, the accused fled into the forest, he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP on Thursday over the incident, alleging that law and order is almost “non existent” in states ruled by the BJP. PTI HWP MAS GK KRK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.