20-year-old woman abducted in car, molested in Ghaziabad; two held

The woman managed to lower one of the car windows and screamed for help

A 20-year-old woman was abducted and molested in a car by two men for over an hour-and-a-half before being rescued by passersby near national highway-9 in Indirapuram on Thursday evening, police officers aware of the matter said on Friday, after arresting the two suspects and seizing their vehicle.

According to investigators, the woman lives in a neighbourhood within the Link Road police station’s jurisdiction, as do the suspects, Kushant Rai, 35, and Prince Tiwari, 30. (Representational Image)

According to investigators, the woman lives in a neighbourhood within the Link Road police station’s jurisdiction, as do the suspects, Kushant Rai, 35, and Prince Tiwari, 30. The woman was a former tenant at Rai’s house but now lives in a different house, police officers added.

The woman’s father is the complainant in this case, said police officers. “Around 5.30pm, my daughter was returning from computer classes when two men pulled her into their car from the Brij Vihar culvert. They threatened to kill my daughter if she resisted, tore her clothes, and severely beat her by slamming her head against the car’s door, which ruptured her head and molested her. All this while, the suspects drove to various locations,” the woman’s father told HT.

Sometime later, the suspects halted in Yojana Vihar in Delhi to pick up liquor from a shop, he added. “By this time, around 7pm, my daughter lowered one of the car windows and screamed for help. Nearby commuters and passersby heard her and managed to surround and stop the suspects’ car. They forced open the car’s door, rescued my daughter and alerted the police. However, the suspects took off in their car before the police arrived,” the woman’s father said.

According to the police, they acted quickly after receiving the information. They took the woman to the Link Road police station and then to a private hospital for medical examination and treatment. Bhaskar Verma, assistant commissioner of police (Sahibabad), confirmed that the woman sustained injuries during the incident.

The woman’s father said, “My daughter is still recovering from the incident and will provide additional information to police. But she told us that the suspects discussed that they would set her on fire with petrol, and one pulled out a cigarette lighter for this purpose.”

“Based on the woman’s statements, our teams tracked down the two suspects. They were both apprehended late Thursday night near the Brij Vihar drain, and we have seized the Celerio vehicle used in the crime. We’re investigating the matter further,” said ACP Verma.

According to the police, the two suspects are travel agents, while the woman, who got married a year ago, is currently living with her parents.

The two suspects were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 354b (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe), 323 (voluntarily causing harm), and 506 (criminal intimidation).