A year after a 12-year-old girl was gangraped and murdered in Ladhowal, police arrested two accused and apprehended one of the suspects on Sunday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Lovely, 32, and Gurmeet Singh alias Meeta, 33, of Ladhowal.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP, west) Sameer Verma said the minor was found dead outside her house in Ladhowal in January 2019. Post-mortem examination of the body had revealed that the girl had been gangraped and then strangulated to death.
Seven months after the incident, police rounded up Lovely and Gurmeet, who were the girl’s neighbours. As per the ACP, the accused had barged into her house when she was home alone and committed the crime.
He added that the accused were rounded up several times, but every time their families used to stage protests to build pressure on the police.
On Sunday too, the families had moved a plea in the Punjab and Haryana high court after the duo’s arrest. Following this, the court appointed a warrant officer, who visited the police station on late Sunday night. As per information, after the warrant officer found the accused had been formally arrested, he did not interfere with the police station. But the third person, who was not formally arrested, was rescued after the police revealed he was apprehended only for questioning.