Ghaziabad fake kidnapping, gang rape case: Police clear five initial suspects

Police, on October 20, called the case “totally made up and fabricated” and arrested three of the woman’s friends, who they said were part of the conspiracy to nail the five suspects. They added the five men had a land dispute over a property worth ₹53 lakh in Kabir Nagar with the woman

The Ghaziabad police on Thursday formally cleared five men initially suspected of abducting a 38-year-old Delhi woman on October 16 and gangraping her, a few days after it came to light that the woman and her friends had allegedly hatched a conspiracy to nail the men in a fake case.

On October 20, police arrested the woman’s friends Azad Tehsin, a resident of Welcome in Delhi; Gaurav Sharan, a resident of Shivam Garden in Badalpur (Gautam Budh Nagar); and Mohammad Afzal, a resident of Kaila Bhatta in Ghaziabad, and arrested the woman after she was discharged from the hospital on October 22. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Police, on October 20, called the case “totally made up and fabricated” and arrested three of the woman’s friends, who they said were part of the conspiracy to nail the five suspects. They added the five men had a land dispute over a property worth ₹53 lakh in Kabir Nagar with the woman.

“We have formally expunged the initial FIR registered on basis of the woman’s brother’s complaint after we submitted a report (under Section 182 of the Criminal Procedure Code) before the court. With the gang rape case now scrapped, the names of five men named in the FIR have been cleared. Some of them were called for questioning and let off. We are now focussing on the role of woman’s siblings and a local reporter in Delhi who helped sensationalise the case,” said Nipun Agarwal, superintendent of police (city 1).

Police have also lodged a suo motu FIR naming the woman, the local reporter, and three of the woman’s friends in the case.

Initially, it was alleged that several men in an SUV abducted the woman on the night of October 16 (Sunday) from near her brother’s house while she was waiting for an auto to return home to Delhi. It was alleged that she was found in a gunny bag left on the roadside near her brother’s home around 4am on October 18 (Tuesday), with her hands and legs tied, after being allegedly gangraped for two days at an unidentified location.

Around noon on October 18, the woman’s brother filed a complaint, naming Sharukh, Javed, Aurangzeb, Deenu and Dhola, all residents of Kabir Nagar in Delhi as suspects, alleging they abducted and gang raped her as well as brutalised her with an iron rod.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the Ghaziabad police in the matter the next day. DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal also tweeted about the alleged gang rape in a very graphic manner and likened the incident to the December 16 gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in Delhi.

However, a spokesperson of a hospital in east Delhi where the woman was treated said the foreign object was a tongue cleaner.

“We are also investigating the role of the woman’s sister who reached the hospital soon after the incident came to light on October 18 and gave video bytes to the suspect local reporter in Delhi who then sensationalised and spread the news,” the SP added.

On October 20, police arrested the woman’s friends Azad Tehsin, a resident of Welcome in Delhi; Gaurav Sharan, a resident of Shivam Garden in Badalpur (Gautam Budh Nagar); and Mohammad Afzal, a resident of Kaila Bhatta in Ghaziabad, and arrested the woman after she was discharged from the hospital on October 22.

The woman’s brother did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the five initial suspects said their lives were in complete disarray for about a week after the case was lodged.

”My family and I were shocked and fearful. However, the police investigation saved us. We handed over the CCTV footage of our locations to Ghaziabad police confirming that we never went to Ghaziabad or abducted the woman,” said Aurangzeb, one of the initial suspects.

The disputed property in Kabir Nagar belongs to the family of Javed and Shahrukh. They have alleged that Azad got fake documents prepared and got the property transferred in the woman’s name.