698-page chargesheet filed in Bhandara gang rape

Nagpur: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Ragasudha R on Monday filed a 698-page chargesheet against two accused — Mohd Ejaz Ansari and Amit Sarve — in the Bhandara gang rape case.
The SIT is now set to urge the Bhandara police superintendent to follow up on the progress with the principal district judge to ensure that the case is taken up by a fast-track court at the earliest. “SIT has tried its best to make a watertight case in the Bhandara gang rape,” said Ragasudha.
Ansari and Sarve had gang-raped the woman, in her 30s, on August 1. They took her to Gumthala Road in Bhandara before gang-raping and brutalizing her, rendering her unconscious. On the following day, she was found without clothes near Kanharmoh flyover.
Earlier, a mini truck driver had repeatedly raped the woman in Gondia on July 30 and 31, before leaving her in Lakhni, Bhandara. She was rescued by cops but had sneaked away from police station in the early hours of August 1.
After uproar over the matter, chief minister Eknath Shinde had formed an SIT under Ragasudha which took up the investigation on August 9.
Initially, one case was registered at Goregaon police station of Gondia, combining the incidents of two districts. Later on, a separate case was registered at Kardha police station in Bhandara for gang rape.
Ragasudha said the first chargesheet sent pertains to the Bhandara gang rape, while the second one for rape in Gondia will be sent later. “We are making all-out efforts to nab the accused in the Gondia case, who is a driver. Around 3,000 vehicles have been checked,” said Ragasudha, adding that around 25 police personnel under the supervision of eight officers have been working without a break for over a month to nab the third accused.
It’s learnt that the SIT team is checking RTO check nakas, forest nakas and several other places for clues regarding the mini truck, whose driver had raped the survivor after offering her a lift. Sources said the SIT team visited many traders, transporters and logistics officers for clues on the mini truck driver, who has managed to remain elusive so far.
In the meantime, the rape survivor was discharged from the Government Medical College and Hospital around a week ago, where she was treated for around three weeks. She was admitted in a precarious condition with serious injuries on the private parts.
The survivor, now under police protection, had received monetary assistance under the ‘Manodhairya Yojana’ scheme for the case registered at Goregaon police station of Gondia.