JOIN USA district court in Bulandshahar on Monday remanded to 14-day judicial custody three people suspected of raping a minor and her mother on the Delhi-Kanpur highway.
According to sources, Raees, Shahbez and Jabar Singh, who were arrested on Sunday, were produced before the court amid tight security.
The police had on Sunday identified the three suspects as Raees, Bablu and Naresh. However, it was not clear if Bablu and Naresh were also arrested or the police had changed their names.
Bandits belonging to the notorious Bawaria gang had on Friday waylaid a Noida family on the busy highway in Bulandshahar district, about 500 km from here. They dragged the 14-year-old girl and the 35-year-old mother into a nearby muddy sugarcane field and gang-raped them while holding the other members of the family hostage at gun point.
The police said that a massive manhunt had been launched to nab the other culprits. Seven police personnel, including district police chief Vaibhav Krishna, were suspended in connection with the incident.
The minor victim has gone into shock and is being counselled, even as the horrific incident has exposed the apathetic attitude of the state police.
According to police officials here, the family members felt humiliated by the incident and have threatened to commit suicide if they do not get justice.
Reports said that the girl had tried to resist the rape attempt, but gave in after the bandits threatened to shoot her father and brother.
The hapless father had begged the bandits to spare his daughter and wife, but his pleas were ignored. The family members, who were on their way to Shahajahanpur district by road to attend a function, returned to Noida after the incident.
The victims claimed that they kept calling the police control room on 100, but got no response. The in-charge of the police control room was suspended for laxity.
The victims had also tried to talk to officer Vaibhav Krishna on Saturday morning, but he refused to meet them.
The officers, who had reached the spot after the incident, did not bother to collect crucial evidence. A gold chain and a purse, which belonged to the victims, were found in the field several hours after the incident by some locals.
UP ADGP (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary admitted laxity on the part of the police. Patrolling on the highway could have prevented the incident, officials said.
DH News Service