4 convicted in 2016 murders and gang rapes in Nuh village

The police initially registered a case on August 25, 2016, and arrested four men — Sandeep, Karamjit, Amarjeet and Rahul Verma, and filed a charge sheet against the four in November that year, charging them with gang rape and murder

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula on Wednesday convicted four people — all members of the infamous “Axle” gang — in connection with the 2016 murder of a farmer and his wife, and the gang rape of their two nieces at Dingerheri village in Nuh’s Tauru.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula on Wednesday convicted four people — all members of the infamous “Axle” gang — in connection with the 2016 murder of a farmer and his wife, and the gang rape of their two nieces at Dingerheri village in Nuh’s Tauru. (Representational Image)

The court will now pronounce the quantum of sentence on April 15, the next date of hearing.

During the hearing on Wednesday, CBI special judge Rajeev Goyal convicted Hemant Chauhan, Ayan Chauhan alias Munna, Vinay alias Lambu, and Jai Bhagwan alias Setu under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to gang rape and murder, as well as under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and Arms Act.

A CBI spokesperson in a statement said that the four were convicted “on the basis of scientific and forensic evidences collected by the central probe agency’s investigators, such as DNA profiles and fingerprint matching”.

The special court also acquitted six accused — Tejpal Yadav, Amit Yadav, Ravinder Yadav, Karamjit, Rahul Verma, and Sandeep.

In addition, the special court declared Amarjeet, another accused, as a proclaimed offender after he jumped bail.

On the intervening night of August 24-25, 2016, a 40-year-old farmer and his wife were beaten to death while their two nieces aged 21 and 16 years were raped by armed men at Dingerheri village. The accused had locked other family members in a room while committing the crime and then fled with cash, jewellery and a two-wheeler.

The police initially registered a case on August 25, 2016, and arrested four men — Sandeep, Karamjit, Amarjeet and Rahul Verma, and filed a charge sheet against the four in November that year, charging them with gang rape and murder.

However, the Haryana government handed over the case to CBI in December 2016, and the central probe agency registered its own case in the matter under IPC and Pocso sections.

Later, on September 13, 2017, the Gurugram police arrested four men — Hemant Chauhan, Ayan Chauhan, Vinay, and Jai Bhagwan — in connection with a separate case, and they confessed to their role in the Dingerheri murders and gang rape. Subsequently, CBI on October 30, 2017 arrested the four men.

The central probe agency, in its charge sheet filed before the Panchkula court on January 24, 2018, had said that the Dingerheri incident was a handiwork of four hardcore gangsters — Hemant Chauhan, Ayan Chauhan, Vinay, and Jai Bhagwan — and said that their involvement was proved on the basis of scientific evidence, including the matching of the DNA profiles of the accused with that of semen found on the rape victims’ clothes.

CBI later filed a supplementary charge sheet against Ravinder Yadav, Amit Yadav and Tejpal Yadav on November 29, 2021.

Subsequently, the court framed charges against 10 of the accused — Amarjeet was not arrested after he jumped bail.