Ghaziabad panchayat bid to settle ‘rape case’ ends in shootout, 2 injured

The family members were asleep on the roof of the rented house, when the incident happened. Arif was caught when tenants of neighbouring houses woke up hearing the noise.

Two persons were injured as a group of residents opened fire at a neighbourhood in Loni town of Ghaziabad on the wee hours of Friday, when a local panchayat was trying to settle an alleged ‘rape’ case.

Two persons were injured as a group of residents opened fire at a neighbourhood in Loni town of Ghaziabad on the wee hours of Friday, when a local panchayat was trying to settle an alleged ‘rape’ case.

According to Loni police, a 23-year-old married man, identified as Arif, entered the house of a 20-year-old woman during the wee hours on Friday and allegedly raped her.

The family members were asleep on the roof of the rented house, when the incident happened. Arif was caught when tenants of neighbouring houses woke up hearing the noise.

After the man was caught, the locals gathered to discuss the issue, as there were speculations that Arif and the woman were in a relationship and he had entered the house with the woman’s consent. While a local panchayat discussed whether to get the two married or to lodge a police complaint against Arif, one of the neighbours rang up the police.

“Attracting police attention to the incident led to resentment among the locals. The neighbour who rang up the police was rebuked by the group holding the panchayat. In retaliation, his family members pelted stones over the group,” said Loni circle officer Durgesh Kumar Singh.

Meanwhile, the police arrived at the spot and took the woman and Arif to the station. Following this, some people holding the panchayat insisted that the woman’s family should be allowed to vacate their rented accommodation. The woman’s landlord, Mohammad Inam, took offence to this suggestion and allegedly opened fire over the members.

During the firing, two persons —Dilshad, 60, and Rehan, 20 — were injured and had to be rushed to hospital. The police said they arrested the landlord Inam, his associates Naeem, Naseeb and Yameen in connection with the firing incident.

“We are still investigating what happened at the woman’s house. Arif has been booked for rape after her family forwarded a complaint. We have lodged a second FIR, based on a complaint forwarded by the family of the two injured persons. Seven persons were booked for attempt to murder,” Singh said.