One of two suspects in July gang-rape held after he turns on victim’s phone

Police said 23-year-old Jaswant Tomar came under their radar after he switched on the phone last week, believing that the case was closed.

A cellphone stolen from a woman they allegedly gang-raped last July at a Noida park became the means for the police to trace and nab one of the suspects after he switched on the phone almost five months later on January 2, believing that the police had closed the case, senior officers said on Tuesday.

One of two suspects in July gang-rape held after he turns on victim’s phone

Police on Tuesday identified the arrested suspect as 23-year-old Jaswant Tomar, a resident of Sambhal district, who is currently residing in Kulesara village. Police said they are still hunting for Tomar’s brother-in-law and alleged accomplice in the gang-rape Abhay Pratap.

Police said Tomar came under their radar after he switched on the phone last week, believing that the case was closed.

Recapping the case, Saad Miya Khan, additional deputy commissioner of police (central), Noida, said, “On July 21 last year, we received a complaint from a 22-year-old woman that while she was walking home with a friend after work around 9pm in the Industrial Area of Phase 2, Noida, two men caught her and dragged her towards the green belt area on the opposite side and allegedly gang-raped her. After raping her, the two fled with her phone and purse. Seeing the attackers, the woman’s friend also fled from the spot.”

On the basis of the woman’s complaint, a case under sections 376D (gang-rape) and 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Phase 2 police station.

“Teams were formed to catch the suspects. During the course of investigation, we identified and verified employees of over 150 factories in the area. Our teams also scanned the CCTV footage from the area. The complainant’s phone, which was stolen, was also put on surveillance but it was found to be switched off. On January 2, the phone was turned on after which police teams tracked its location and nabbed Tomar,” said Khan.

The suspect runs a tea stall in the industrial area near the incident spot.

“During interrogation, Tomar admitted to the crime and named his brother-in-law Abhay Pratap as the other suspect. Prima facie facts have suggested that the two were in an inebriated state at the time of the incident. After the incident, the two continued to come to work as usual. Tomar had switched on the phone as he thought that the police had closed the case,” Khan said.

Tomar was produced before the court and sent to judicial custody while teams are working to nab Pratap, said police.