Chandigarh: Raids were being held to nab three men accused of raping a 19-year-old student after drugging her in Haryana’s Mahendargarh district, police said Friday, two days after she was allegedly abducted from a bus-stop on her way to a coaching centre.
The father of the young woman, a school topper who was felicitated by the government, said she could have been raped by eight to 10 men.
The mother hit out at the police for allegedly failing to take action in the case and said her daughter was traumatised even as the accused “were roaming freely” after the incident.
“She has named three accused, but when the horrific incident took place, she sensed that 8-10 persons could have been there,” the victim’s father told reporters in Rewari Friday, noting she was drugged by the accused. The incident evoked sharp reaction from the opposition, with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleging a complete breakdown of the law and order situation.
He demanded resignation of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on moral grounds for the state’s alleged failure to protect its daughters.
“The chief minister should resign on moral grounds. There is complete breakdown of law and order machinery in Haryana. The latest shocking incident is not an isolated one...
“Criminals were on the run from Haryana when the Congress was in power, but crime graph has gone up ever since the BJP came to power,” Hooda alleged.
Mr Khattar told reporters in Rohtak the law will take its course and assured that culprits will be punished.
“We are conducting raids and hope to make arrests soon,” Mahendergarh Superin-tendent of Police Vinod Kumar said.
He said raids were being held in Rewari and Mahendergarh districts and neighbouring areas.
When asked if eight to 10 people could be involved in the gangrape, Kumar said, “The victim has given a statement to the police in which she has named three accused.”
The victim’s mother said her daughter was traumatised after the incident. “The government talks about Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, but is this the price we have to pay for getting our daughters educated? The accused are roaming freely but police has failed to nab them,” she told reporters.
