Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh police have arrested seven people who had been allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl over the last five years in Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand region. Those arrested by the police include the victim’s father, her uncle and district presidents of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
As per police sources, the victim, a student of class XI, had, on October 12, accused 28 people – 25 named and three unidentified — of allegedly raping her over the time. Besides naming her father and uncle, the victim had named political leaders, her relatives and local residents as accused involved in the act.
The police have got the girl medically examined. They have also recorded her statement before a magistrate. “We have so far arrested seven persons including the girl’s father and district presidents of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party,” said a police officer.
According to Lalitpur Superintendent of Police Nikhil Pathak, the arrests were made following the girl’s complaint that she was raped for five years in different parts of the city.
A case was registered at Sadar Kotwali police station of Lalitpur on October 12 against 28 people, including the victim’s father and uncle — and three unknown persons.
The police sources confirmed that a raid was conducted in a hotel in Mirzapur district in eastern UP on Friday arresting Tilak Yadav and Deepak Ahirvar, the SP and BSP district chiefs of Lalitpur respectively. An engineer Mahendra Dubey was also arrested from the hotel in connection with the rape case.
The three persons were produced before a local court, which sent them to 14-day judicial custody on Saturday. Earlier, four people were arrested in connection with the case.
The police sources also claimed that the victim’s mother had accused her husband of sexually assaulting their 10-year-old son as well. The police have provided security to the victim and her family.
According to the police, the victim, along with her mother, visited a police station in Lalitpur on October 12 and submitted a complaint saying that she was gang-raped by 28 persons over the last five years.
The girl alleged that when she was in class VI, her father raped her after forcibly showing her pornographic videos, said the police. The victim also claimed that later, her father used to take her to different hotels in the town where multiple people would rape her. She had remained silent in the face of threats from her father, but confided in her mother, said the police.
The police have registered an FIR on multiple charges, including gang rape, against 25 named and three unidentified people. Lalitpur Superintendent of Police Nikhil Pathak said the police were collecting records and CCTV footage from the hotels where the teen was sexually assaulted.