Press Trust of India
Bulandshahr, July 31: Fifteen people were detained and the main accused identified, as police launched a massive manhunt for the bandits who brutally gangraped a woman and her teenage daughter after dragging them out of their car at Bulandshahr bypass on Delhi-Kanpur National Highway. The incident which occurred Friday night when the family from Noida was travelling on NH-91 sparked outrage in the country with opposition parties Sunday attacking the Akhilesh Yadav government, alleging that “goonda raj” was at its peak in Uttar Pradesh and governance had collapsed.
Facing flak, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav gave “24 hours time” to SSP Bulandshar to crack the case while directing disciplinary action against policemen of the area. He also directed Principal Secretary, Home, Debashish Panda and DGP Javed Ahmad to monitor the case, an official spokesman said, adding the CM has asked officials to initiate “stern action against the guilty so that no one could dare to do such an act in future”. SSP Bulandshahr Vaibhav Krishna said that 15 Special Task Force teams have been pressed into action and were carrying out searches in Bulandshahr, Meerut and other districts and also other states to nab the accused.
“15 suspects have been detained. Main accused has been identified. He belongs to nomadic tribe involved in criminal activities. Special teams have been formed to crack the case,” he said. The suspects are being interrogated in connection with the incident that took place Friday night when the family was travelling from Noida to Shahjahanpur by car. A group of bandits waylaid the family, dragged the woman and her 13-year-old daughter to a nearby field and raped them while the men were tied with ropes. They also looted cash, jewellery and mobile phones. One of the family members, who later managed to escape, reported the matter to police. SHO Ramsen of Kotwali Dehat was relieved from charge of the case and taken off active duty after police reported his negligence in the matter, the SSP said.
Taking cognisance of the case, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said it has sent a member to meet the victims and officials in Uttar Pradesh but added that it finds little cooperation from the state administration in such cases. BSP, BJP and Congress targeted the Samajwadi Party government in the poll-bound state and demanded that it step down.
