'Deeply upsetting': DCW urges UP CM to form panel to probe Ghaziabad gangrape case, ruled by cops as 'staged' by woman
Ghaziabad Police said on Thursday that they have substantiated “confessional statements” of three friends of the woman with forensic and electronic evidence before arresting them.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal on Saturday wrote to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, urging him to constitute a high-level committee to investigate the alleged abduction and gangrape of a 38-year-old woman in Ghaziabad.
This comes after Ghaziabad Police on Thursday said the entire incident was fabricated by the woman against the five suspects named in the case as they had a land dispute with her.
In reference to the fabrication allegations against the woman, Maliwal further stated that “strong action under Sections 182 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and others” must be taken against her if it is found that she is “not a victim but instead a perpetrator”.
“Needless to say, this is very serious, shocking and deeply upsetting on several levels…It must be examined as to who inflicted injuries on the woman and who was responsible for inserting the iron rod like substance in her private part, which was removed by GTB hospital (as mentioned in the MLC report),” the letter by the DCW chief read.
The incident, which has an uncanny resemblance with the 2012 Delhi gangrape case, first came into news on Wednesday. Police registered an FIR of gangrape and wrongful confinement of the woman, hailing from Delhi, and named five suspects on the basis of a complaint given by her brother who lives in Ghaziabad.
It was alleged that five men in an SUV allegedly abducted her on Sunday night (October 16) around 9.30pm when she was returning from her brother's birthday party. She was allegedly found in a gummy bag on the roadside near her brother's home around 4am on Tuesday (October 18), with her hands and legs tied, after being gangraped for two days at an unidentified location. The woman was also claimed to be battling to survive at a hospital as an iron rod was inserted into her private parts, which was later removed by doctors.
However, the police quashed the theory on Thursday, saying they have substantiated “confessional statements” of three suspects - Azad Tehsin, resident of Welcome in Delhi; Gaurav Sharan, resident of Shivam Garden in Badalpur (Gautam Budh Nagar); and Mohammad Afzal, resident of Kaila Bhatta in Ghaziabad -- with forensic and electronic evidence before making the arrests.
“The alleged incident did not take place…[It] was planned to nail the five men (initial suspects) who had a land dispute with the woman. We have also come across evidences (from Azad’s mobile phone) which suggest that payments were also made to sensationalise the case. There have been two earlier attempts in Delhi to nail the five men and this was the third such pre-planned attempt,” Praveen Kumar, inspector general (Meerut range) told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday.
Police said they are continuing with the investigation and will take appropriate action. They added that the brother of the woman, so far, does not appear to be a party to the conspiracy.
Maliwal had issued a notice to Ghaziabad Police on Wednesday, and also tweeted about the alleged gangrape, likening it to the 2012 Delhi incident. She called for fast-tracking of probe into the matter.
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