Husband of 22-yr-old woman raped' by 40 men in Haryana guest house held

Chandigarh: In a twist to the alleged gangrape of a 22-year-old woman at a guest house in Morni in Panchkula district, the Haryana Police on Wednesday arrested her husband and booked him under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, officials said.

 The woman's husband was booked under various provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, Panchkula DCP Rajender Kumar Meena told reporters.

Meena said the accused was also booked under section 370 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which pertains to buying or disposing of any person as a slave.

Police investigations showed the two key accused, already arrested in the case, were running a sex racket, the official said.

"The SIT was investigating the case from all angles. During the in-depth probe, we came to know there were other angles to the case," Meena said.

Earlier, both the woman and her husband had claimed that there was no telephonic conversation between them between July 15 and 18, the period during which the woman had alleged she was raped by 40 men in a guest house at Morni, the DCP said.

"However, it has come to light during the investigation that they were in regular contact with each other on some other number," he said.

Police also found a conversation between Sunil alias Sunny, the prime suspect in the case, and the woman's husband.

"Some facts came to fore that his (accused husband's) history has been such (a reference to immoral trafficking)," Meena said.

He said the woman's husband was produced before a court in Panchkula on Wednesday, which remanded him to three days in police custody.

"We will try to explore other hidden aspects in the case," Meena said.

Asked whether the rape case will stand in the wake of the new developments, Meena replied, "investigation is on and as facts emerge, we will proceed further."

When asked if more persons could be involved, the DCP replied, "all angles are being investigated."

Earlier, ten people were arrested in the alleged gangrape case.

The woman had alleged she was raped for four consecutive days after being held captive at a guest house in Morni area.

In a complaint lodged with the Chandigarh Police at Manimajra police station on Thursday, the woman alleged she was held captive for four days where the accused took turns to rape her.

The woman's husband had earlier told reporters that she was promised a job at the guest house by a person known to them, adding she was drugged, raped and threatened against revealing the incident to anyone.

The Chandigarh Police had lodged an FIR at the Manimajra police station after the woman approached them with the complaint. She alleged the Haryana Police had failed to take cognizance of her complaint.

The Haryana Police had set up a Special Investigation Team under IPS officer Dr Anshu Singla, ASP, Panchkula, to probe the alleged gangrape incident.

Three police officials including a woman ASI were suspended for alleged negligence and mis-handling of the woman's complaint.