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4 arrested for trying to shield rape-accused police constable in Ujjain

Four people have been arrested, including two constables and a Class IV employee of the health department.

Updated on: Dec 8, 2020, 17:59:51 IST
Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By
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Police in Ujjain arrested a Class IV employee of the health department on Monday for allegedly shielding the accused in a rape case. According to the police, the health department employee allegedly gave the idea to the rape accused and three others, including two constables, of giving another person’s sample for DNA testing.

Image for representation.
Image for representation.

All four accused were arrested for impersonation, fabricating false evidence and hatching criminal conspiracy to change the sample of sperm and blood of the main accused Ajay Astey for DNA test, said Satyendra Shukla, superintendent of police, Ujjain. Ajay was posted as a constable in Police Line.

The accused include Class IV employee Jagdish Kumar, two constables - Tabrez Khan, posted at Women police station, and Ghanshyam, posted at Neelganga police station - and the main accused’s cousin Balram Suryawanshi.

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“After Neelganga police arrested Ajay Astey on December 5, Jagdish Kumar contacted him and made the plan of impersonation. Jagdish asked him to arrange a person who can impersonate as Astey in the hospital while giving the sample. Astey, with the help of constable Ghanshyam, contacted his cousin Balram Suryawanshi and his friend constable Tabrez,” said the SP.

The SP added, “A sub-inspector Hemlata and constable Ghanshyam took Astey to district hospital on Sunday for DNA test. Tabrez and Balram also reached the hospital. When on-duty doctor H Diwakar called Astey for the sample, Jagdish facilitated the entry of Balram with constable Ghanshyam into the room to give his sample for DNA test.”

When the doctors asked for details, Balram got nervous. When the police interrogated Balram, he confessed his crime and took the names of Tabrez, Ghanshyam and Jagdish.

All four were produced before the court and were subsequently sent on judicial remand on Tuesday.

  • Shruti Tomar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shruti Tomar

    I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More