Meerut gang-rape: Two more arrested, situation still tense

Meerut: Two more people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the alleged rape and forced religious conversion of a young woman in Meerut, taking the total number of arrests in the incident to five, even as the situation in the district is tense but under control. [caption id=“attachment_1651693” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] As the incident sparked an outrage, the Centre sought a detailed report from Uttar Pradesh government at the earliest while her family demanded a CBI probe. “One company of Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deputed apart from police teams in the district to avert any untoward incident where situation is tense but under control,” Meerut District Magistrate Pankaj Yadav said, adding two more people were arrested on Tuesday. Three people who were among the accused in the incident in which the 20-year-old woman was first allegedly abducted were taken into custody yesterday in the first arrests in the case. The incident also had its echo in the Lok Sabha where BJP MP Rajinder Aggarwal demanded a CBI probe. This led to a verbal clash between BJP and SP members, with the latter protesting against the BJP’s charges and some BJP members, including Giriraj Singh, were heard demanding clamping President’s Rule in UP. The victim’s brother told PTI over telephone that a CBI probe should be initiated for a fair investigation and to bring culprits to justice. The victim was on Tuesday produced before the Meerut District Upper Civil Judge Neetu Yadav where her statement was recorded under Section 164 of CrPC, police said. According to police, the woman will be taken to hospital again to ascertain whether any internal organ was taken out. The victim’s family had suspected that a reproductive organ may have been taken out as a cut mark was evident on her stomach, police said. The Union Home Ministry, meanwhile, has asked the UP government to give a detailed factual report on the incident at the earliest, official sources said in New Delhi. UP Governor Ram Naik said in Lucknow that he was monitoring the situation in Meerut. “I have an eye on the Meerut incident… I have talked to the Chief Minister on phone about it,” the Governor said. SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said stern action would be taken against those responsible for the incident. UP state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai along with other party leaders visited the victim’s village Sarawa in the district. In a complaint, the woman’s father alleged that his daughter was abducted on 23 July and taken to a madrassa in Kharkhauda, where she was raped by some of the accused. They also forcefully made her sign some papers related to religious conversion, he had alleged. The three people arrested yesterday were village head Nawab Khan, his wife and daughter Nishat. The identity of the two people arrested today was not immediately disclosed by authorities. PTI