Madhya Pradesh's Mhow case: ‘Shocked’ Army officers' friend says ‘shoot me or the rapists’. Who are the accused?
Mhow case: Anil Baror and Pawan Bansunia were produced before a local court. Another accused, Ritesh Bhabhar, was arrested on Thursday night.
Mhow case: The Madhya Pradesh said they have arrested three of the six persons who allegedly assaulted two junior Indian Army officers and raped their woman friend near Mhow in Indore district.
Anil Baror (27) and Pawan Bansunia (23) were produced before a local court which remanded them in police custody for five days, said a police official. Another accused, Ritesh Bhabhar (25), was arrested on Thursday night, news agency PTI reported.
The announcement of arrests came on a day Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the incident, alleging “non-existent” law and order in the states ruled by the saffron party.
Superintendent of police (Rural) Hitika Vasal told PTI that Bhabhar was accused of threatening the two Army officers and their two women friends with a pistol during the incident, while the other accused were carrying sticks.
A total of six accused have been identified in connection with the incident that took place in the wee hours of Wednesday near the popular tourist spot Jam Gate, about 30 km from Mhow military cantonment, police said.
"Several teams are on the lookout for the three absconding accused, and a reward of ₹10,000 has been announced for (information about) each of them," the SP said.
The Army officers, aged 23 and 24, undergoing the Young Officers course at the Infantry School in Mhow cantonment town, had gone out for a picnic with their two female friends.
The accused arrived at the picnic spot around 2am, and started assaulting one of the officers and his female friend who were sitting in the car, police said.
Upon hearing the commotion, the other officer and his woman friend, who were on a hilltop, reached the spot. Later, after police reached the spot, the Army officers and their female friends were brought to Mhow civil hospital.
What medical report found
PTI, citing an official, reported that a medical examination confirmed that one of the women was raped. A case has been registered under sections 70 (gang rape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under sections of the Arms Act based on the complaint filed by the officer.
ThePrint reported that one officer has expressed concern that one of the women might have been sexually assaulted by the attackers, leading the police to book them for rape, among other charges. The woman, however, is yet to give her statement.
All four were sent for medical examinations. The two Army officers have injuries, but they are not severe. The woman, who is suspected to have been raped, has injuries including scratch marks. However, the medical report did not clearly confirm rape or gang rape, said a police officer requesting anonymity told the news portal
“We cannot conclude even with the medical (report) that the woman has been raped or gang raped until and unless she herself says so. We have invoked the section to ensure that in case she records a statement to that extent, these sections can come into effect,” additional superintendent of police Rupesh Dwivedi told ThePrint.
“The male army officer to suspect that the woman accompanying him was raped. But the woman has refused to record her statement. We have invoked sections of rape at the moment, but it will only come into effect if the woman says so,” Dwivedi added.
According to Dwivedi, at least three of the six have past criminal records.
“She only keeps telling us one thing – shoot the accused or shoot me. We understand she is in shock. We are trying our best to arrest the men who did this,” The Indian Express quoted a senior officer, who tried multiple times to convince the woman to record her statement, as saying.
“She is not comfortable registering her statement. We will wait until she recovers. We have arrested three persons – Anil, Pawan and Ritesh. Ritesh was acquitted in a murder case in 2019. The remaining three accused will be arrested soon,” Hitika Vasal told The Indian Express.
Who are the accused?
- Police records show that the three arrested men have a history of involvement in several previous cases, the newspaper reported.
- In 2016, Anil was charged at the Manpur police station for allegedly robbing a collection executive from a finance company. The complainant claimed that “four unidentified men on two motorcycles without number plates approached us and demanded my bag and belongings, threatening to kill me if I refused".
- On August 18, 2021, a police team responding to a family dispute call was attacked with stones by a crowd of 50-60 people, and Anil was among those arrested.
- Then, on July 1, 2024, he, along with eight others, was charged for allegedly removing 285 poles and barbed wire from a fenced-off reserved forest area, The Indian Express reported.
- Additionally, on September 28, 2021, Pawan was booked in an excise case after police seized illegal liquor from him, it reported.