Tag: gang rape

  • Dalit woman gang-raped in Rajasthan village, 5 booked 

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Three men have been arrested for the gang rape of a 32-year-old Dalit woman in Deedwana Kuchaman district of Rajasthan, police said Monday.

    Didwana Circle Officer Dharam Chand Poonia said though the incident happened in August, a case in the matter was filed only Sunday.

    The case was registered against five people under section 376 (D) (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the SC/ST Act.

    ALSO READ | 16-year-old Dalit girl who was gang-raped, set ablaze in UP’s Pilibhit dies 12 days later

    Kishore Mali, Ramdev Thalod, and Tejpal have been taken into custody, while a hunt is on for the two accused still absconding, Poonia said.

    The victim was presented in a court on Monday where her statement was recorded, he said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    JAIPUR: Three men have been arrested for the gang rape of a 32-year-old Dalit woman in Deedwana Kuchaman district of Rajasthan, police said Monday.

    Didwana Circle Officer Dharam Chand Poonia said though the incident happened in August, a case in the matter was filed only Sunday.

    The case was registered against five people under section 376 (D) (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the SC/ST Act.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    ALSO READ | 16-year-old Dalit girl who was gang-raped, set ablaze in UP’s Pilibhit dies 12 days later

    Kishore Mali, Ramdev Thalod, and Tejpal have been taken into custody, while a hunt is on for the two accused still absconding, Poonia said.

    The victim was presented in a court on Monday where her statement was recorded, he said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Gang-rape in MP: BJP Datia unit assures of action if victim names party functionary’s son as accused

    By PTI

    DATIA: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Datia district unit head on Sunday said appropriate action will be taken if a 19-year-old victim of gang-rape in her police statement names the son of a local party functionary of being involved in the crime.

    The woman was allegedly abducted and raped by four persons in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Friday afternoon, after which the victim tried to end her life, police earlier said.

    The police have so far arrested one of the accused, an adult, and detained two minors while search is on for one more accused in the case, Unav police station in-charge Yadvendra Singh Gurjar on Sunday.

    A reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced on the absconding accused, he said. Those nabbed so far include a local BJP functionary’s minor son, whose name has figured in the First Information Report (FIR) registered in the case.

    Asked about it, BJP’s district president Surendra Budholia said the incident was unfortunate and the police were yet to record the victim’s statement.

    If the victim takes the name of the BJP office-bearer’s son in her statement to the police, then the party will serve a notice to him (local functionary).

    The party will then take further action, Budholia said. After the incident, a police complaint was lodged by the victim’s younger sister.

    “The complainant said she and her elder sister were abducted by four persons. The accused took them to a house, where they raped her elder sister,” Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said on Saturday.

    Following the incident, the victim and her younger sister returned home, where the victim tried to commit suicide, he said. The woman was later admitted to a hospital in Jhansi in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Sharma said.

    As per the FIR, the accused also sexually abused the complainant, he said.

    After the incident, a large number of people staged a protest at the police station, following which the police registered a case.

    The people were pacified and a copy of the FIR was given to them, he said.

    The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 D (gangrape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement) and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Sharma had said.

    DATIA: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Datia district unit head on Sunday said appropriate action will be taken if a 19-year-old victim of gang-rape in her police statement names the son of a local party functionary of being involved in the crime.

    The woman was allegedly abducted and raped by four persons in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Friday afternoon, after which the victim tried to end her life, police earlier said.

    The police have so far arrested one of the accused, an adult, and detained two minors while search is on for one more accused in the case, Unav police station in-charge Yadvendra Singh Gurjar on Sunday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    A reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced on the absconding accused, he said. Those nabbed so far include a local BJP functionary’s minor son, whose name has figured in the First Information Report (FIR) registered in the case.

    Asked about it, BJP’s district president Surendra Budholia said the incident was unfortunate and the police were yet to record the victim’s statement.

    If the victim takes the name of the BJP office-bearer’s son in her statement to the police, then the party will serve a notice to him (local functionary).

    The party will then take further action, Budholia said. After the incident, a police complaint was lodged by the victim’s younger sister.

    “The complainant said she and her elder sister were abducted by four persons. The accused took them to a house, where they raped her elder sister,” Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said on Saturday.

    Following the incident, the victim and her younger sister returned home, where the victim tried to commit suicide, he said. The woman was later admitted to a hospital in Jhansi in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Sharma said.

    As per the FIR, the accused also sexually abused the complainant, he said.

    After the incident, a large number of people staged a protest at the police station, following which the police registered a case.

    The people were pacified and a copy of the FIR was given to them, he said.

    The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 D (gangrape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement) and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Sharma had said.

  • Class 10 student falls to death in UP school; father claims principal asked her to come during vacation

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: A Class 10 student died under mysterious circumstances after she allegedly fell from the terrace of the school in Ayodhya on Friday.

    The UP Police have registered a case against three persons including the school manager Brijesh Yadav, principal Rashmi Bhatia, and PT teacher Abhishek Kannojia, invoking sections pertaining to gang rape, destruction of evidence, murder and also under the POCSO Act on the basis of the complaint lodged by victim’s father on Saturday.

    The police have already arrested the PT teacher and are investigating him. The body of the deceased was sent for autopsy examination which is being conducted by a panel of three doctors and the entire procedure is being videographed. 

    The incident happened at the Sunbeam School on Ayodhya-Rae Bareilly Road in the Cantt area of the temple town at around 8.45 am on Friday.

    According to the parents, the victim was called to school by the principal regarding an article for the school magazine even as the school was shut for summer vacations on Friday morning. 

    The victim, who used to live in the Usru locality left for school at 8:30 am.

    At around 10 am, the victim’s father Sanjeev Srivastava, an employee of a petroleum company, got a call from school authorities informing him that his daughter Ananya had fallen from a swing and had sustained serious injuries.

    Srivastava rushed to the hospital where his daughter Ananya was taken by the school authorities.

    After battling for her life the whole day, she succumbed to her injuries on Friday at 5 pm.

    Later the family approached the police authorities suspecting foul play with the dubious role of school authorities including the manager, principal and PT teacher.

    The parents alleged that the body of their daughter bore several injury marks on her hands, feet and hips. They claimed that her face was swollen and her eyes were injured which could be a result of an assault.

    The police scanned CCTV footage and found that the girl fell from the third floor. 

    Contradicting the school authorities’ claim, the victim’s father refused to accept that his daughter died after falling off a swing as it was only one-and-a-half feet high.

    According to police sources, the principal tried to mislead the family of the deceased by claiming that the death was due to falling from the swing.

    They added that the traces of blood were also removed from the place where the girl had allegedly fallen.

    Ananya’s mother Ruchi Srivastava a government council school teacher in Siddharthnagar was visiting her parents in Indore along with her younger daughter.

    The school principal Rashmi Bhatia remained incommunicado. CO City Shailendra Singh said that as per the CCTV footage, Ananya died after falling from the third floor of the school. Moreover, the spectacles and mobile of the deceased found on the spot were not broken.

    LUCKNOW: A Class 10 student died under mysterious circumstances after she allegedly fell from the terrace of the school in Ayodhya on Friday.

    The UP Police have registered a case against three persons including the school manager Brijesh Yadav, principal Rashmi Bhatia, and PT teacher Abhishek Kannojia, invoking sections pertaining to gang rape, destruction of evidence, murder and also under the POCSO Act on the basis of the complaint lodged by victim’s father on Saturday.

    The police have already arrested the PT teacher and are investigating him. The body of the deceased was sent for autopsy examination which is being conducted by a panel of three doctors and the entire procedure is being videographed. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    The incident happened at the Sunbeam School on Ayodhya-Rae Bareilly Road in the Cantt area of the temple town at around 8.45 am on Friday.

    According to the parents, the victim was called to school by the principal regarding an article for the school magazine even as the school was shut for summer vacations on Friday morning. 

    The victim, who used to live in the Usru locality left for school at 8:30 am.

    At around 10 am, the victim’s father Sanjeev Srivastava, an employee of a petroleum company, got a call from school authorities informing him that his daughter Ananya had fallen from a swing and had sustained serious injuries.

    Srivastava rushed to the hospital where his daughter Ananya was taken by the school authorities.

    After battling for her life the whole day, she succumbed to her injuries on Friday at 5 pm.

    Later the family approached the police authorities suspecting foul play with the dubious role of school authorities including the manager, principal and PT teacher.

    The parents alleged that the body of their daughter bore several injury marks on her hands, feet and hips. They claimed that her face was swollen and her eyes were injured which could be a result of an assault.

    The police scanned CCTV footage and found that the girl fell from the third floor. 

    Contradicting the school authorities’ claim, the victim’s father refused to accept that his daughter died after falling off a swing as it was only one-and-a-half feet high.

    According to police sources, the principal tried to mislead the family of the deceased by claiming that the death was due to falling from the swing.

    They added that the traces of blood were also removed from the place where the girl had allegedly fallen.

    Ananya’s mother Ruchi Srivastava a government council school teacher in Siddharthnagar was visiting her parents in Indore along with her younger daughter.

    The school principal Rashmi Bhatia remained incommunicado. CO City Shailendra Singh said that as per the CCTV footage, Ananya died after falling from the third floor of the school. Moreover, the spectacles and mobile of the deceased found on the spot were not broken.

  • Dalit girl gang-raped, strangled in village in Mathura

    By PTI

    MATHURA: A 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly strangled to death after gang rape in a village under Mahavan Police Station area of Mathura district.

    According to Police, the girl had gone to a forest area near her house to relieve herself at around 8.30 pm Friday night. She had taken her nine-year-old sister with her.

    Three men of the village caught the girl there and allegedly gang-raped her, and strangled her to death later, they said. Her younger sister somehow managed to escape from there and told her family about the incident.

    When they heard about it, the family along with other villagers began a search for the girl and ended up apprehending two men.

    Superintendent of Police Rural Trigun Bisen who visited the spot pacified the agitated villagers and took Deshraj and Yogendra, the two men caught by the villagers, into custody.

    Police are now conducting raids in search of the third accused, Sachin, who is on the run.Deputy Superintendent of Police Alok Singh said prima facie it appears that the girl was killed after rape.

    An FIR has been lodged and police are investigating the matter.

    MATHURA: A 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly strangled to death after gang rape in a village under Mahavan Police Station area of Mathura district.

    According to Police, the girl had gone to a forest area near her house to relieve herself at around 8.30 pm Friday night. She had taken her nine-year-old sister with her.

    Three men of the village caught the girl there and allegedly gang-raped her, and strangled her to death later, they said. Her younger sister somehow managed to escape from there and told her family about the incident.

    When they heard about it, the family along with other villagers began a search for the girl and ended up apprehending two men.

    Superintendent of Police Rural Trigun Bisen who visited the spot pacified the agitated villagers and took Deshraj and Yogendra, the two men caught by the villagers, into custody.

    Police are now conducting raids in search of the third accused, Sachin, who is on the run.Deputy Superintendent of Police Alok Singh said prima facie it appears that the girl was killed after rape.

    An FIR has been lodged and police are investigating the matter.

  • Will fight again, against what is wrong: Bilkis Bano on remission given to her rapists

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: “I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right,” said Bilkis Bano, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 case related to her gangrape and murder of seven members of her family.

    Bano was 21 years old and five-month pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the 2002 Gujarat riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident.

    Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

    In her two separate petitions, she has challenged the premature release of the convicts by the Gujarat government on August 15, saying it has “shaken the conscience of society”.

    In a statement, issued on Thursday, she said, “The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope.”

    She added, “But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me.”

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    Bano said the support to her cause from different parts of the country has helped her in rekindling her faith in humanity and renewed her courage to believe again in the idea of justice.

    “So, I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right. I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere”, she said.

    NEW DELHI: “I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right,” said Bilkis Bano, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 case related to her gangrape and murder of seven members of her family.

    Bano was 21 years old and five-month pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the 2002 Gujarat riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident.

    Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

    In her two separate petitions, she has challenged the premature release of the convicts by the Gujarat government on August 15, saying it has “shaken the conscience of society”.

    In a statement, issued on Thursday, she said, “The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope.”

    She added, “But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me.”

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    Bano said the support to her cause from different parts of the country has helped her in rekindling her faith in humanity and renewed her courage to believe again in the idea of justice.

    “So, I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right. I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere”, she said.

  • Woman given spiked drink, gang-raped by four men in Kolkata

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Four men, two of them students, were arrested for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman at a birthday party organised in a bungalow in Kolkata’s northern outskirts Rajarhat on Thursday.

    The woman filed a police complaint on Friday alleging that she was gang-rapped by four men at the party after spiking her drink and making her barely conscious. 

    According to the complaint lodged by the victim, she was invited to the party by her female friend, who was also friends with one of the accused, who had thrown the party at Vedic village on Thursday night. “There were more than 10 people, including women. The four men raped me in turns after spiking my drink,” the woman mentioned in the complaint.

    “She left the venue on Friday morning after realising that she had been raped the previous night. She immediately filed a complaint on Friday night,” said a police officer. 

    The four accused were arrested and produced in a Barasat court, North 24 Parganas, and sent to police custody for seven days. 

    “We have collected footage from CCTV cameras installed near the bungalow and the resort’s entry and exit gates. Investigators are examining the footage,’” said Gaurav Sharma, Bidhannagar police commissioner.

    KOLKATA: Four men, two of them students, were arrested for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman at a birthday party organised in a bungalow in Kolkata’s northern outskirts Rajarhat on Thursday.

    The woman filed a police complaint on Friday alleging that she was gang-rapped by four men at the party after spiking her drink and making her barely conscious. 

    According to the complaint lodged by the victim, she was invited to the party by her female friend, who was also friends with one of the accused, who had thrown the party at Vedic village on Thursday night. “There were more than 10 people, including women. The four men raped me in turns after spiking my drink,” the woman mentioned in the complaint.

    “She left the venue on Friday morning after realising that she had been raped the previous night. She immediately filed a complaint on Friday night,” said a police officer. 

    The four accused were arrested and produced in a Barasat court, North 24 Parganas, and sent to police custody for seven days. 

    “We have collected footage from CCTV cameras installed near the bungalow and the resort’s entry and exit gates. Investigators are examining the footage,’” said Gaurav Sharma, Bidhannagar police commissioner.

  • Gang rape case: Anticipatory bail plea of former Andaman chief secretary rejected

    By PTI

    PORT BLAIR: A local court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail application of former Andaman and Nicobar chief secretary Jitendra Narain in a gang rape case.

    Soon after the verdict, a team of policemen reached a private resort where Narain is staying and took him to the Police Line amid heavy security.

    A special investigation team (SIT) questioned Narain, a senior IAS officer, thrice in connection with the case.

    The SIT was constituted to probe allegations that a 21-year-old woman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was lured to the chief secretary’s home by promising a government job and then raped by top officials including Narain there.

    Seeking anticipatory bail for Narain, his counsel Deep Kabir submitted that the former chief secretary was cooperating with the investigation and should be granted the relief.

    READ | Over 20 women were taken to ex-Andaman Chief Secy’s house in alleged jobs-for-sex racket

    District and Sessions Judge Subhashis Kumar Kar wondered on what ground he should get it as the pre-arrest bail plea of two other accused in the case were rejected earlier, according to the victim’s lawyer Phatick Chandra Das.

    The judge was referring to Labour Commissioner R L Rishi and businessman Sandeep Singh alias Rinku.

    Rishi was also accused of raping the woman while Singh’s name was mentioned in the FIR as an accomplice in the crime.

    “As Narain was the chief secretary of the islands for a considerable period and “his power and position cannot be equated with a man of common strata,” the judge said.

    “The need of custodial interrogation of the present petitioner cannot be ruled out for the interest of the proper and impartial investigation,” the order read.

    The FIR was registered on October 1 when Narain was posted as the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation.

    The government suspended him on October 17 with immediate effect.

    The Andaman and Nicobar Police on November 2 announced a reward of Rs one lakh each for information leading to the arrest of Rishi and Singh.

    Both are absconding.

    PORT BLAIR: A local court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail application of former Andaman and Nicobar chief secretary Jitendra Narain in a gang rape case.

    Soon after the verdict, a team of policemen reached a private resort where Narain is staying and took him to the Police Line amid heavy security.

    A special investigation team (SIT) questioned Narain, a senior IAS officer, thrice in connection with the case.

    The SIT was constituted to probe allegations that a 21-year-old woman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was lured to the chief secretary’s home by promising a government job and then raped by top officials including Narain there.

    Seeking anticipatory bail for Narain, his counsel Deep Kabir submitted that the former chief secretary was cooperating with the investigation and should be granted the relief.

    READ | Over 20 women were taken to ex-Andaman Chief Secy’s house in alleged jobs-for-sex racket

    District and Sessions Judge Subhashis Kumar Kar wondered on what ground he should get it as the pre-arrest bail plea of two other accused in the case were rejected earlier, according to the victim’s lawyer Phatick Chandra Das.

    The judge was referring to Labour Commissioner R L Rishi and businessman Sandeep Singh alias Rinku.

    Rishi was also accused of raping the woman while Singh’s name was mentioned in the FIR as an accomplice in the crime.

    “As Narain was the chief secretary of the islands for a considerable period and “his power and position cannot be equated with a man of common strata,” the judge said.

    “The need of custodial interrogation of the present petitioner cannot be ruled out for the interest of the proper and impartial investigation,” the order read.

    The FIR was registered on October 1 when Narain was posted as the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation.

    The government suspended him on October 17 with immediate effect.

    The Andaman and Nicobar Police on November 2 announced a reward of Rs one lakh each for information leading to the arrest of Rishi and Singh.

    Both are absconding.

  • Woman gang-raped at under-construction building in Madhya Pradesh, six nabbed

    By PTI

    TIKAMGARH: A 23-year-old woman was gang-raped by five men and a minor at an under-construction building in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh city, police said on Friday.

    Based on a complaint lodged by the woman, the police have arrested five men and detained a 16-year-old boy in connection with the crime that took place on Thursday night, inspector Raghuraj Singh of Kotwali police station said.

    As per the complaint, the accused took turns and raped the woman at an under-construction building on Thursday night, he said.

    The woman lodged a complaint this morning, following which the accused were apprehended from different places, he said.

    One of the accused worked as a watchman at the site and knew the woman, who hails from the neighbouring Chhatarpur district.

    He had called the woman promising to get her a job as a labourer, he said. The other accused were all labourers.

    The six men consumed alcohol and raped the woman, the official said, adding that a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in this regard.

    TIKAMGARH: A 23-year-old woman was gang-raped by five men and a minor at an under-construction building in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh city, police said on Friday.

    Based on a complaint lodged by the woman, the police have arrested five men and detained a 16-year-old boy in connection with the crime that took place on Thursday night, inspector Raghuraj Singh of Kotwali police station said.

    As per the complaint, the accused took turns and raped the woman at an under-construction building on Thursday night, he said.

    The woman lodged a complaint this morning, following which the accused were apprehended from different places, he said.

    One of the accused worked as a watchman at the site and knew the woman, who hails from the neighbouring Chhatarpur district.

    He had called the woman promising to get her a job as a labourer, he said. The other accused were all labourers.

    The six men consumed alcohol and raped the woman, the official said, adding that a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in this regard.

  • Over 20 women were taken to ex-Andaman Chief Secy’s house in alleged jobs-for-sex racket

    By Online Desk

    KOLKATA: Senior IAS officer and former Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jitendra Narain is at the epicentre of a sexual allegation in which 20 women were allegedly taken to his Port Blair residence in a jobs-for-sex racket. Some of the allegedly sexually exploited women were provided with government jobs.

    The allegations came into the open after a 21-year-old woman alleged that the former Chief Secretary Narain and the then Labour commissioner of Andaman and Nicobar Islands RL Rishi sexually exploited her and she was subjected to gang-rape. 

    Jitendra Narain’s name was among the ‘Top 50 Bureaucrats’ list prepared by Fame India, Asia Post, and PSU Watch, in 2019.

    A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the young woman’s allegations that she was lured to the chief secretary’s home with the promise of a government job and then raped by top officials there.

    The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed Jitendra Narain, a 1990 batch IAS officer, to appear before the SIT by October 28, holding that the case requires immediate inquiry.

    A vacation bench comprising justices Bibek Chaudhuri and Prasenjit Biswas also granted interim protection against arrest to Narain till a date that will be fixed by the circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court in Port Blair on November 14 on its first date of sitting after the Puja vacation.

    The woman’s family has reportedly said they would move the Supreme Court for cancellation of the former Chief Secretary’s interim bail.

    The woman had alleged that she was introduced to Labour Commissioner Rishi through a known person and was taken to the residence of the then Chief Secretary Narain.

    In her complaint, she alleged that she was offered alcohol at Narain’s residence and when she declined it, she was forcibly raped and sexually assaulted by the Chief Secretary and the Labour Commissioner.

    According to an Indian Express (IE) investigation, the young woman said that the sexual assault was repeated two weeks later and that she was threatened to not disclose the crime to anyone.

    IE reported that the Call Data Records (CDRs) of the two bureaucrats and that of the 21-year-old matched with the time of sexual assault as stated by the woman, as told by senior police officials. The tower location of the woman and two senior officers also matched her allegations, the cops said.

    The hard disk of the digital video recorder of the CCTV camera at the Chief Secretary’s residence was erased and later removed from his residence after he was transferred from Port Blair to New Delhi in July this year, IE reported.

    In a testimony from a member of the Chief Secretary’s staff, as reported by IE, he said that he used to be instructed to “pick the women up”, and then pick up food from a local restaurant to ber served later at the residence, and would then be asked to drop the women off at a fixed spot.

    The complainant had filed an application before the Aberdeen Police Station in Port Blair on September 30, on the basis of which the FIR was lodged.

    On October 17, Narain was suspended by the Union Home Ministry.

    His accomplice, the former Labour Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar administration, has also been placed under suspension.

    Narain had written to the Union Home Ministry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands claiming that a conspiracy was being hatched against him and that he has “specific materials which demonstrate the fake nature of the case”.

    Reportedly, he claimed that he wasn’t present in Port Blair on one of the two dates given in the FIR and showed air tickets to confirm he had been in Delhi that day. However, the woman’s family informed that there had been was a mix-up in the dates provided by her, thereby clearing the matter.

    (With PTI and IANS inputs)

    KOLKATA: Senior IAS officer and former Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jitendra Narain is at the epicentre of a sexual allegation in which 20 women were allegedly taken to his Port Blair residence in a jobs-for-sex racket. Some of the allegedly sexually exploited women were provided with government jobs.

    The allegations came into the open after a 21-year-old woman alleged that the former Chief Secretary Narain and the then Labour commissioner of Andaman and Nicobar Islands RL Rishi sexually exploited her and she was subjected to gang-rape. 

    Jitendra Narain’s name was among the ‘Top 50 Bureaucrats’ list prepared by Fame India, Asia Post, and PSU Watch, in 2019.

    A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the young woman’s allegations that she was lured to the chief secretary’s home with the promise of a government job and then raped by top officials there.

    The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed Jitendra Narain, a 1990 batch IAS officer, to appear before the SIT by October 28, holding that the case requires immediate inquiry.

    A vacation bench comprising justices Bibek Chaudhuri and Prasenjit Biswas also granted interim protection against arrest to Narain till a date that will be fixed by the circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court in Port Blair on November 14 on its first date of sitting after the Puja vacation.

    The woman’s family has reportedly said they would move the Supreme Court for cancellation of the former Chief Secretary’s interim bail.

    The woman had alleged that she was introduced to Labour Commissioner Rishi through a known person and was taken to the residence of the then Chief Secretary Narain.

    In her complaint, she alleged that she was offered alcohol at Narain’s residence and when she declined it, she was forcibly raped and sexually assaulted by the Chief Secretary and the Labour Commissioner.

    According to an Indian Express (IE) investigation, the young woman said that the sexual assault was repeated two weeks later and that she was threatened to not disclose the crime to anyone.

    IE reported that the Call Data Records (CDRs) of the two bureaucrats and that of the 21-year-old matched with the time of sexual assault as stated by the woman, as told by senior police officials. The tower location of the woman and two senior officers also matched her allegations, the cops said.

    The hard disk of the digital video recorder of the CCTV camera at the Chief Secretary’s residence was erased and later removed from his residence after he was transferred from Port Blair to New Delhi in July this year, IE reported.

    In a testimony from a member of the Chief Secretary’s staff, as reported by IE, he said that he used to be instructed to “pick the women up”, and then pick up food from a local restaurant to ber served later at the residence, and would then be asked to drop the women off at a fixed spot.

    The complainant had filed an application before the Aberdeen Police Station in Port Blair on September 30, on the basis of which the FIR was lodged.

    On October 17, Narain was suspended by the Union Home Ministry.

    His accomplice, the former Labour Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar administration, has also been placed under suspension.

    Narain had written to the Union Home Ministry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands claiming that a conspiracy was being hatched against him and that he has “specific materials which demonstrate the fake nature of the case”.

    Reportedly, he claimed that he wasn’t present in Port Blair on one of the two dates given in the FIR and showed air tickets to confirm he had been in Delhi that day. However, the woman’s family informed that there had been was a mix-up in the dates provided by her, thereby clearing the matter.

    (With PTI and IANS inputs)

  • Ghaziabad woman who levelled ‘fabricated’ gang-rape charge arrested 

    By PTI

    GHAZIABAD: A woman who had allegedly levelled a “fabricated” gang-rape charge in an attempt to grab property was arrested on Saturday, a day after police booked her and three of her accomplices for cheating and forgery.

    The Delhi woman had claimed that she was kidnapped and raped by five men for two days.

    “The woman was arrested by our police team. She was presented before a magistrate to record her statement. The court has sent her to 14 days in judicial custody,” Superintendent of Police (City-I) Ghaziabad Nipun Agarwal said.

    Her accomplices Azad, Afzal and Gaurav were arrested earlier.

    On Friday, police had said that the woman, Azad, Afzal and Gaurav have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to cheating, forgery and fraudulently using genuine documents.

    They have been charged under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (fraudulently using as genuine document which the person knows or has reason to believe to be forged), Circle Officer, City-2, Ghaziabad, Alok Dubey, had said.

    ALSO READ | Gang-rape claim ‘fabricated’; woman’s allegation ploy to grab property: Ghaziabad police 

    Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday had said that the 36-year-old woman was found wrapped in a jute bag, with her hands and legs tied, and an iron rod was inserted in her private parts.

    However, during a press conference on Thursday, the Ghaziabad police dismissed as “fabricated” the woman’s claim that she had been raped and brutalised by the five men and said a conspiracy had been hatched over a dispute over a “small” property.

    Of the five, four were arrested.

    During the conference, when asked if a clean chit will be given to the four persons, Inspector General (IG), Meerut, Praveen Kumar, had said, “We have not got any evidence against them. Prima facie, in this case, no such incident has taken place. So, there is no question of getting evidence.”

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday had said that contradictory statements were made by the woman and her family members.

    On the women’s claim that she was kidnapped, IG Kumar had said,” No. She had gone to a designated place at her own will. Chats analysed by police also show that money was also paid to individuals to publicise the case,” he had said.

    Kumar had also said that during the investigation, it was found that Azad’s phone was switched off around the time the woman purportedly disappeared.

    On the property dispute, he said the dispute was about a “small” property.

    The NCW had said that police said the incident was planned to implicate the five men, the initial suspects, who had a property dispute with the woman.

    ALSO READ | Woman who levelled ‘fabricated’ gang-rape charge booked along with 3 others

    “Evidence also suggests that (payment of) Rs 5,000 were also made to sensationalise the case in the media,” it said.

    The property dispute is subjudice at the Karkardooma district court in Delhi.

    The present three suspects (Azad, Afzal and Gaurav) and the woman planned to implicate gang-rape charges against the five men, an NCW official had said.

    IG Kumar had also said that “a woman named Sameena gave the property to Azad in 2021 who in turn gave its power of attorney to a man named Deepak Joshi”.

    “There was talk about giving this property to the Delhi woman. The case regarding this was going on in the court,” the officer had said.

    Authorities at the GTB Hospital had on Wednesday said the woman’s condition is stable and no internal injury has been found.

    The NCW official had said that “also, the hospital told us that in preliminary medical examination, no semen was found on the victim”.

    Police have also told the commission that the Delhi woman’s claim that she had been raped and brutalised by five men is “false”, the official had said.

    GHAZIABAD: A woman who had allegedly levelled a “fabricated” gang-rape charge in an attempt to grab property was arrested on Saturday, a day after police booked her and three of her accomplices for cheating and forgery.

    The Delhi woman had claimed that she was kidnapped and raped by five men for two days.

    “The woman was arrested by our police team. She was presented before a magistrate to record her statement. The court has sent her to 14 days in judicial custody,” Superintendent of Police (City-I) Ghaziabad Nipun Agarwal said.

    Her accomplices Azad, Afzal and Gaurav were arrested earlier.

    On Friday, police had said that the woman, Azad, Afzal and Gaurav have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to cheating, forgery and fraudulently using genuine documents.

    They have been charged under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (fraudulently using as genuine document which the person knows or has reason to believe to be forged), Circle Officer, City-2, Ghaziabad, Alok Dubey, had said.

    ALSO READ | Gang-rape claim ‘fabricated’; woman’s allegation ploy to grab property: Ghaziabad police 

    Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday had said that the 36-year-old woman was found wrapped in a jute bag, with her hands and legs tied, and an iron rod was inserted in her private parts.

    However, during a press conference on Thursday, the Ghaziabad police dismissed as “fabricated” the woman’s claim that she had been raped and brutalised by the five men and said a conspiracy had been hatched over a dispute over a “small” property.

    Of the five, four were arrested.

    During the conference, when asked if a clean chit will be given to the four persons, Inspector General (IG), Meerut, Praveen Kumar, had said, “We have not got any evidence against them. Prima facie, in this case, no such incident has taken place. So, there is no question of getting evidence.”

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday had said that contradictory statements were made by the woman and her family members.

    On the women’s claim that she was kidnapped, IG Kumar had said,” No. She had gone to a designated place at her own will. Chats analysed by police also show that money was also paid to individuals to publicise the case,” he had said.

    Kumar had also said that during the investigation, it was found that Azad’s phone was switched off around the time the woman purportedly disappeared.

    On the property dispute, he said the dispute was about a “small” property.

    The NCW had said that police said the incident was planned to implicate the five men, the initial suspects, who had a property dispute with the woman.

    ALSO READ | Woman who levelled ‘fabricated’ gang-rape charge booked along with 3 others

    “Evidence also suggests that (payment of) Rs 5,000 were also made to sensationalise the case in the media,” it said.

    The property dispute is subjudice at the Karkardooma district court in Delhi.

    The present three suspects (Azad, Afzal and Gaurav) and the woman planned to implicate gang-rape charges against the five men, an NCW official had said.

    IG Kumar had also said that “a woman named Sameena gave the property to Azad in 2021 who in turn gave its power of attorney to a man named Deepak Joshi”.

    “There was talk about giving this property to the Delhi woman. The case regarding this was going on in the court,” the officer had said.

    Authorities at the GTB Hospital had on Wednesday said the woman’s condition is stable and no internal injury has been found.

    The NCW official had said that “also, the hospital told us that in preliminary medical examination, no semen was found on the victim”.

    Police have also told the commission that the Delhi woman’s claim that she had been raped and brutalised by five men is “false”, the official had said.