HC asks CBI to specify role of 4 accused held by Mewat police

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to specify the role of four persons arrested by the Mewat police in an August 2016 murder and rape case in Mewat.

The Mewat police had arrested four men of a neighbouring village for an alleged rape and murder in Dingarheri on the intervening night of August 24-25, 2016. A couple was killed and their two nieces, one of them just 16 years old, were gang-raped.

The high court bench of justice Surinder Gupta passed the order after CBI opposed the bail pleas of these four persons. The CBI had argued that these men were identified as the accused by the victims in an identification parade, and, hence, they should not be given bail.

However, in the chargesheet filed before CBI court-Panchkula earlier this month, the CBI has accused four members of the Axle gang of committing the crime. These four members of Axle gang are Dharmu, Muna, Lambu and Jaibhagwan.

The CBI had claimed that the gang members not only accepted their involvement in the rape and murder case, but an examination of their DNA samples and fingerprint analysis confirmed their involvement. The agency had further said the DNA samples of the four accused arrested by the Mewat police did not match with the DNA profiles obtained from the victims. Pardeep Rapria, who is appearing for the men initially arrested by the Mewat police, said the CBI chargesheet has not found any evidence against his clients. “The victim had stated that four persons were involved. But now, there are eight persons behind bars for the same crime,” he said, adding that if his clients were not involved then why was the CBI opposing the bail.

The HC bench of Justice Gupta, while taking note of the fact that CBI had not found any incriminating material against the appellants, has now asked the agency to give a detail report on role of these four men by March 7.