New Delhi, Nov 7: Three persons have been arrested in connection with alleged gangrape of a woman researcher and social worker from Odisha in the national capital city on October 10, Delhi police said on Thursday.
The arrested have been identified as Prabhu Mahto, Parmod alias Babu and Mohammad Shamsul lais Raju.
The three accused raped the woman first in a secluded place on October 10 and then in an autorickshaw and eventually left her bleeding on the road. The victim is receiving treatment at Delhi AIIMS.
According to reports, she travelled to Delhi on May 9 without informing her family which has filed a missing person's report in Puri.
According to police, they received a PCR call at 3.15 am on October 11 regarding a woman lying bleeding near Sarai Kale Khan area.
A police team immediately rushed to the spot and found the victim in a distressed state. She was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre for medical examination where she disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted. It was also discovered that the victim woman was mentally unstable.
"The victim belonged to a lower-middle-class family from Odisha. She is a dedicated researcher, facilitator, and community leader with over eight years of experience in the social sector. She had travelled to Delhi on May 9 without informing her family and a missing person report was registered by her parents in this regard at Police Station Kumbharpada, Puri, Odisha," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Ravi Kumar Singh said..
10 police teams were constituted to apprehend the accused. The team of AATS worked persistently under the supervision of ACP Lajpat Nagar Aishwarya Singh and ACP Operations Dalip Singh and identified, traced and nabbed three accused persons after relentless efforts of 21 days.
"After sustained efforts, the auto-rickshaw of accused person was correctly identified and driver on the night of October 10 as Prabhu Mahto. Thereafter, sustained efforts were made to track the accused and he was arrested on October 30. Subsequently, the other accused persons Pramod and Mohammad Shamsul were also identified and arrested in the present case on November 2 and November 4," Singh added.
On interrogation, the accused Parmod, who is an alcohol addict said that he closed his shop as per his usual routine and got drunk.
"He noticed a girl sitting nearby. Shortly after, another accused Mohammad Shamshul, a beggar, alcohol addict and physically handicapped arrived at the scene. Both accused persons conspired to sexually assault the girl, assuming she was mentally unsound and an easy target. Together they forcibly dragged the girl to a deserted area to commit the crime. An auto driver-accused Prabhu Mahto witnessed the incident and joined them with the intent of getting involved in the crime. Subsequently, accused Prabhu Mahto forced the girl in his auto and raped her. Thereafter the accused dumped the victim towards Sarai Kale Khan and drove away," Singh added.
