G NOIDA GANG RAPE VICTIMS WERE GOING TO HOSPITAL WITH ₹47,500 FOR PREGNANT KIN

The Uttar Pradesh police has roped in the special task force (STF) to help investigators trace the men behind the alleged gang rape, murder and robbery in Jewar.

Eight persons in a Maruti Eeco car were robbed, held hostage and four women, in the age group 28 to 52 years, were allegedly raped by a gang of six robbers on the Jewar-Bulandshahr road.

The victims had just left their village when two tyres burst and six men attacked them with country-made pistols, knives and iron rods. They allegedly raped the women. Police were awaiting medical reports.

“It is suspected the robbers had thrown some object that had nails because of which the tyres burst. This modus operandi is used by local and tribal gangs. We are looking for the culprits with the help of electronic surveillance and data of gangs available with STF,” said Rajiv Narayan Mishra, additional superintendent of police, STF.

Sources said police picked up 5-6 persons for questioning. “We are trying to zero in on criminals who could be roaming around in the area during the incident. It will be done with the help of electronic surveillance. Such gangs operate on secluded stretches. The STF is working with local police to trace the culprits,” he added.

In such robberies, the local gangs use a trap called ‘khadanja’ -- iron nails fixed on a thick piece of leather and thrown on the road to puncture tyres. The officials were optimistic about tracing the robbers as they took away the victims’ mobile phones.

The officials are also drawing parallel to a similar case on July 29 last year when a family of six was waylaid near Dostpur in Bulandshahr. The men were tied up and a woman and her teenage daughter were raped. The gang had thrown an iron rod at the car to stop it on the highway. Later, the police arrested a gang led by Saleem Bawariya.

UP minister Suresh Khanna, meanwhile, denied claims that crime had shot up in the state during the present government’s tenure. “Crime cannot be zero in society. Unlike other regimes, our government will not shield or harbour criminals. We will nab the culprits and government’s intent is very clear about such activities,” Khanna said in Ghaziabad on Thursday.