Gurgaon: Fifth accused in Tigra rape case arrested, two vehicles seized

A 22-year-old woman was allegedly dragged out of a car and raped by the road in Sector 57 on Sunday; the rape accused was produced in court and remanded in one day’s police custody

The fifth accused involved in a brawl, in which a 22-year-old woman was allegedly dragged out of a car and raped by the roadside in Sector 57 on Sunday, was arrested late on Monday night.

The five accused (in pic) escaped from the spot in their cars on hearing the siren of a police vehicle which was on patrol duty on Golf Course Extension Road. (HT PHOTO)

The accused, identified as Pawan Sharma (24), a resident of Tigra village, was produced in a local court along with four other accused—Sanjeet (22), Dharmender (25), Deshbeer (23) and Pawan (26) — on Tuesday. The police also seized the two cars they were in when they allegedly attacked the complainant’s family.

The five accused were produced in court on Tuesday. The court remanded Sanjeet, the rape accused, in one day’s police custody and four others to judicial custody.

Police said a case of rape was registered against Sanjeet, a resident of Johalka village in Sohna, whereas four others were arrested for allegedly thrashing the victim’s husband and other relatives at Tigra, near Golf Course Extension Road, late on Sunday night.

“All the five accused were arrested and produced in the court today (Tuesday). The fifth accused Pawan Sharma was arrested from Tigra village late on Monday night. No firearm was used by the accused during the crime,” Gurgaon police PRO Ravinder Kumar said, adding that the main accused Sanjeet will be taken into police custody for questioning.

Read I One arrested for gang-rape, Gurgaon police hunt co-accused

Sanjeet and his friends had come to Tigra to drop Pawan when a fight broke out and the woman was raped,” an official close to the investigation in the case said, adding that all the men were drunk when they beat up the victim’s husband and relative.

Sources in the police department said that Sanjeet dragged the victim out of the car when his friends were fighting. “The accused have said they were unaware of what Sanjeet was doing when they were fighting. The fight lasted for a few minutes,” said an official close to the investigation in the case.

The accused escaped from the spot in their cars on hearing the siren of a police vehicle which was on patrol duty on Golf course extension road. They returned to their village Johalka in Sohna from where the police arrested them on Monday.

The woman hails from West Bengal and lives with her family in a rented accommodation in Gurgaon. Police said that the woman and her husband had been to her brother-in-law’s place at Tigra village.

Police said they were being dropped home by their relatives after midnight when the husband asked for the car to be stopped at a secluded road in Sector 57, as he had to relieve himself. Her nephew also left to fetch some water to drink.

Police said at that time, the accused, in two cars, stopped near them and asked why they were standing there. The accused started arguing with them and soon a fight broke out, the victim said in her police statement.

The victim’s husband managed to note down the car number as the accused fled. It helped the police nab the accused.