Topper gangrape: police question people but no arrests yet
Chandigarh, Sep 15 : The Haryana Police on Saturday detained two persons for questioning in the gangrape of a 19-year-old board examination topper in Mahendragarh district.
Special Investigating Team (SIT) chief Nazneen Bhasin told media in Rewari that the rape of the young woman had been confirmed in the medical examination.
However, the three accused in the gang-rape case continued to evade the police, 85 hours after the incident.
The accused include a serving Armyman Pankaj, and two other youth, Manish and Nishu. All belong to Kanina village.
The police said it had detained a local medical practitioner, who was called by the accused youth when the condition of the rape victim deteriorated on Wednesday (September 12) after she had been sexually assaulted.
Police officials said that the medical practitioner gave the victim first aid after he was threatened by the accused.
The police has also detained and is questioning a local farmer, Dayanand. It was the room in the agricultural fields owned by the farmer that the accused allegedly gangraped the victim.
The Haryana Police has drawn flak for not being able to arrest any of the accused even after three days of the incident.
State Director General of Police (DGP) B.S. Sandhu said on Saturday that the accused would be arrested soon.
"One of the accused, Pankaj Fauji, is with the Army and is supposed to report for duty. We have sent teams to nab him," Sandhu told media.
Pankaj is with an Army unit posted at Kota in neighbouring Rajasthan. He got married last year.
Though the victim initially told the police that she was allegedly gang-raped by three men, her father claimed that she had seen eight to 10 men around her when she regained consciousness following the gangrape on Wednesday near Kanina village, around 350 km from here.
The victim, who has identified her attackers, and her parents had said earlier that the police were not taking action in the matter and were dealing with it casually.
The accused, who belong to the same village as the victim and knew her, allegedly kidnapped the victim from Kanina bus stand while she was on her way for coaching classes.
She said they gave her water to drink which was laced with a sedative. They then took turns raping her in a room adjoining agricultural fields till she fell unconscious.
They later dumped her at a bus stop near the village. One accused, Manish, even called up the victim's father and told him to pick her from the bus stand.
The victim, a second year student in a college, topped the board examination and was felicitated by the government.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
