The accused also tried to destroy the evidence by bathing the girl in a pond, located near the spot. The police have recovered victim’s mobile phone, her purse, her clothes, hair pin, besides mobiles of all the arrested accused. (Representational Image)
The Dumka police have arrested at least 16 persons in connection with the gangrape of a young woman in Mofussil police station area of Dumka district late on September 6 night. The police said that around six or seven of the arrested accused were involved in the sexual assault, while the others abetted the crime. It was revealed that stopping casually by the roadside to relieve herself proved horrific for the woman, as four to five youngsters first accosted her and then called several others over phone. More than half-a-dozen allegedly indulged in sexual assault.
The accused also tried to destroy the evidence by bathing the girl in a pond, located near the spot. The police have recovered victim’s mobile phone, her purse, her clothes, hair pin, besides mobiles of all the arrested accused. They added that they would be sending all the evidence for forensic examination to ensure that the accused did not go scot free. The condition of the woman, admitted to Sadar Hospital, remained stable.
In an official statement, Dumka Superintendent of Police, Mayur Patel said, “We have arrested 16 accused in the case, besides recovering mobile phones. All the accused have confessed to their involvement. Actual involvement of the accused in sexual assault was immaterial as all the accused were present there and abetted the crime one way or the other. The seriousness of their crime is no less. There were also attempts to destroy the evidence. Some of the mobiles were also used during the entire sequence of events. We are moving ahead with scientific evidence and will get everything forensically examined.”
According to the police, the woman, in her statement, said that she and her friend — both of them worked in a bike showroom — were on their way home on motorcycle when they stopped on the road leading to Dighi village to relieve herself. As they took the bike away from the road, four-five youngsters came there and asked them to hand over Rs 4,000 and the woman’s mobile phone.
When the woman and her friend refused, they called two-three more youngsters. The woman told the police that, initially, they decided to call up the villagers and hand them over alleging that “they were up to some mischief”. However, these seven-eight people further called other half-a-dozen youngsters, who came there on bikes or on foot. Most of them were residents of nearby villages. The duo could not escape as those who had gathered there, surrounded them, the police said.
The accused then held the friend hostage at knife-point and gangraped her. “The woman managed to tell us the names that she had heard during the horrific sequence of events on the basis of which we identified eight accused. At their instance and mobile call records, we got the other eight,” sid a police officer.
