Ludhiana gangrape: Two accused arrested, 3 others identified

The victim, a student of cosmetology, and her male friend were kidnapped on Saturday night by six men near Issewal Bridge and held them hostage till the morning. She was gangraped at a vacant plot in Issewal village the next morning.

Two days after a 21-year-old student was gangraped at Issewal, 25km from Ludhiana, the Mullanpur Dhaka police on Tuesday arrested two persons and identified three others.

Taking a suo motu cognisance of a media report, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has constituted a three-member team to probe the gangrape of a 21-year-old woman in Ludhiana.(AFP)

Sadiq Ali, 24, a Gujjar, of Rehpa village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr), was arrested from his house. Later in the day, police arrested Jagroop Singh of Jaspal Bangar village in Ludhiana. The other accused are Ajay and Saif Ali of Tibba and Surmu of Khanpur village of Ludhiana. Sadiq is married and was in Ludhiana to meet his relatives Saif Ali and Surmu. All are in the age group of 25-30, said the police.

The victim, a student of cosmetology, and her male friend had to go through a traumatic experience on Saturday night after six men kidnapped them near Issewal Bridge and held them hostage till the morning. She was gangraped at a vacant plot in Issewal village the next morning, while her friend was physically tortured. The accused had also demanded ₹2 lakh from their friends to release the victims.

Confirming the arrest, deputy inspector general of police (DIG, Ludhiana range) Ranbir Singh Khatra said that during questioning, Sadiq confessed to his crime and also named four other accused. Raids were conducted and Jagroop was arrested in the evening from his house, he said.

Police on Tuesday released sketches of the accused. Earlier in the day, police rounded up some men from Issewal and Changna villages for questioning.

On Monday, Ludhiana (rural) SSP Varinder Singh Brar suspended Mullanpur police station ASI Vidya Ratan for dereliction of duty.

NCW summons SHO, seeks status report

Taking a suo motu cognisance of a media report, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has constituted a three-member team to probe the gangrape. The team, which visited Chandigarh on Tuesday, summoned Mullanpur Dakha SHO and asked him to present a status report.

The NCW has also written to Punjab DGP demanding a thorough probe into the case and apprise it of action taken.