Gaya deputy mayor, 7 others arrested for gang-rape

The police arrested seven persons including the deputy mayor of Gaya and two ward councillors on charges of illegal confinement and gang-rape of two minor girls at a premier hotel on Frazer Road in the state capital on Tuesday.

The police arrested seven persons including the deputy mayor of Gaya and two ward councillors on charges of illegal confinement and gang-rape of two minor girls at a premier hotel on Frazer Road in the state capital on Tuesday.

All the arrested persons, including the husband of a zila parishad member, were sent to judicial study till January 20.

The medical examination of the girls was also conducted.

The police said their statements would also be recorded, as also that of hotel staff and other witnesses.

Sources said a former minister was also in the hotel with the deputy mayor but he managed to escape just before the police arrived.

Those arrested were identified as Onkar Nath alias Akahuri Mohan Srivastava (deputy mayor), Ajay Kumar Sharma (husband of district board member), Binod Kumar Mandal, Jitendra Kumar Verma (both ward councilors), Pintoo Kumar, Manoj Kumar Sao and Jitendra Prasad Yadav.

Shrivastava had unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections from Gaya town on a national party ticket in 2005.

Police seized half a dozen cell phones, liquor bottles, huge cash and condoms packets from the hotel rooms.

The police had earlier been tipped off that hardcore criminals of Gaya had assembled in the posh hotels located near Dakbungalow intersection and were planning to commit a crime.

On getting information, the Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) constituted a team under the supervision of city SP Jayant Kant and led by DSP (law and order) Mamta Kalyani , which raided room number 553 situated on the ground floor and caught Srivastava and Sharma in compromising position with two minor girls of Motihari district.

In the course of interrogation, both revealed that they also hired room number 507 in another hotel and two ward councilors, drivers and other were staying there.

Later police raided the other hotel and arrested five persons with objectionable items.

During investigation, the girls revealed that they were lured by one Anita Devi – believed to be the kingpin of a sex racket run from Motihari.

They were allegedly forcibly brought from Motihari to Patna on a luxury vehicle at around 8pm (Monday) and kept in a room. Both the minors alleged that Srivastava and his associates outraged their modesty.

However, police sources said the arrested girls revealed that Anita had struck a deal with Srivastava for an unspecified amount.

The SSP said a case had been lodged with Kotwali police station under sections of 363 (kidnapping), 376g (gang-rape), 120b (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and 3/4/5 of Immoral Trafficking Act.

Later, they were produced before the court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Rama Kant Yadav, who forwarded them to judicial custody in Beur jail.

Earlier in December last year, Gaya police had busted a thriving sex racket at a gents’ hair cutting parlour running on the premises owned by Srivastava.

Srivastava, however, denied ownership of the premises where the alleged sex racket was going on. He later admitted that the premises belonged to his wife but claimed he had nothing to do with the property.

On the other hand, mayor of Gaya municipal corporation Vibha Devi and BJP MLA from Gaya Prem Kumar have demanded Shrivastava’s resignation from the post of deputy mayor.