Police say Ghaziabad rape case was fabricated, 3 detained

A Ghaziabad rape case took a strange turn as investigators said they discovered that the allegation was fabricated and a property dispute worth Rs 53 lakh was at the centre of the affair, according to an Indian Express report.

Police officials said that a woman chose to fabricate a story of gang-rape and assault by a group of men, which led to an FIR being filed by police. The Delhi Commission for Women also pressed for strong action against the accused.

During the investigation, the police found several loopholes in the woman's story and information that did not add up.

The woman's brother said that she had been abducted on her way back after attending his birthday party on Oct. 16. She said she was raped by five men and found in Ghaziabad on Oct. 18. The police said they found her conscious inside a sack with the top half of her body exposed, the report said.

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The woman was then taken to GTB hospital. Sources at the facility said that there was no sign of internal injuries but she had some bruises. A 5 to 6 cm foreign object was removed from her body and was sent for analysis, they said.

The authorities have now detained three men - Azad, Gaurav and Afzal - for allegedly conspiring to falsify a case. The woman was not taken into custody as she is still under medical observation.

Alok Dubey, circle officer, Sihani Gate, told IE that the five men who were named as the accused were involved in a property dispute with the woman that had been continuing for a long time. Two of the men said that the property in question was an ancestral one and that they had owned it for 40 years.

Azad, one of the suspects arrested, had been staying on rent on the property and was owed Rs 2 lakh by one of the men on the other side of the dispute. The other men said that Azad signed an agreement with them under which he was supposed to return the property documents after he was repaid the amount owed. The agreement, however, turned out to be one that gave Azad the power of attorney and the property was later moved into the woman’s possession.

Police told the publication that there were several discrepancies in the case. They said that Azad's mobile phone was switched off at the same time and in the same area where the woman was supposedly abducted. Police said that the GPS in Gaurav's car showed that it had been to the same location where the woman was found allegedly abandoned.

The police said they also uncovered evidence of PayTM payments from Azad, which was meant to ensure that the news of the "rape" would be widely circulated.