Four suspects in Jewar gang-rape arrested after gunfight in Greater Noida
Two months after five women of a family were gang-raped and a male relative was shot dead, the Uttar Pradesh police in Jewar on the outskirts of Greater Noida arrested four suspects after a gunfight.
Police arrested four men after an encounter early Sunday morning in Greater Noida in connection with alleged gang-rape of four women and the murder of a male relative of the women in Jewar in May this year.
One of the arrested persons suffered a bullet injury on his leg, while two accused managed to escape.
Police said they went after the suspects following a tip off about the presence of six criminals near Sabota village underpass.
A team of 15 policemen from the Jewar police station along with crime branch personnel cordoned off the area after which criminals opened fires at the policemen. Police seized two country-made pistols and a gun from the site of the encounter.
Police said the arrested persons have admitted that they were behind the heinous gang rape and robbery on May 25. Eight people in a car were robbed, held hostage and four women, in age group 28 to 52 years, allegedly gang-raped by a gang of six robbers on Jewar-Bulandshahr Road. The victims were waylaid in fields adjacent to the road after they stopped the car because two tyres were punctured. A male relative of the women was shot dead.
Police said they managed to scuttle another similar crime the gang had planned. The arrested persons are between the age group of 27 to 45.
Read more: Noida: Villagers protest over lack of arrests in Jewar gang-rape case
“The accused were there to commit a similar type of crime like the Jewar gang rape and murder. We had got a tip off about this planning of the gang,” said Rajpal Singh Tomar, station house officer, Jewar
The accused used to stay out of Uttar Pradesh and came back only to commit crime, Tomar said. According to the police, there are more people who are part of the gang that operates in various areas of Haryana and UP.
The encounter started at 2:30 a.m. and continued for two hours. Police said the criminals fired more than 20 rounds at them. The police team returned the fire.
Senior superintendent of police, Love Kumar who also reached the spot said, “The four arrested men were involved in gang rape of four women and murder of their male relative on May 25 off the Yamuna Express. One of them has received bullet injury in the leg and has been hospitalized. Three others have been taken for questioning.”
He said two of the six men managed to escape. “The two men taking benefit of darkness fled from the spot after which we launched a combing operation. We are hopeful of arresting them soon,” Kumar added.