Ludhiana | Yet another rape-robbery accused booked for not appearing in court

The accused was declared a proclaimed offender on January 22 after he stopped appearing in court; on December 5, the police had booked his accomplices who had also been declared proclaimed offenders

Four days after two of his accomplices were booked for not appearing in court after being granted bail, another proclaimed offender accused of gang raping a woman during a robbery was booked on the same charges on Thursday.

The Ludhiana Police had registered a case under Sections 392 (robbery), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), and 376-D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code against 12 unidentified robbers; later, a case was registered for non-appearance in response to a proclamation. (Representative Image/HT File)

The accused, Mohammad Bashir of Moti Nagar, was declared a proclaimed offender on January 22.

Assistant sub-inspector Surjit Singh, who is investigating the case, said a case had been registered under Section 174A (non-appearance in response to a proclamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Focal Point police station.

On December 5, the police had booked his accomplices Suraj Kumar of Bihar and Barjesh Kumar of Dhandhari, who had also been declared proclaimed offenders.

The Case

On June 5, 2018, the accused along with 10 other accomplices had robbed metal worth ₹10 lakh from a factory in Mangali village. The robbers had also assaulted the labourers and their families living on the premises. Six members of the gang, including the three proclaimed offenders, had raped the 34-year-old wife of one of the labourers, while the others held her husband captive.

The police have been conducting raids for the arrest of the accused.