Main Accused in Rewari Gang Rape Arrested; CM Khattar Transfers SP for 'Inaction'

Chandigarh: The main accused in the Rewari gang rape, identified as Nishu Phogat, has been arrested, Nuh SP Naazneen Bhasin said.

The development comes hours after two others — the owner of the tubewell where the incident occurred and the doctor who treated the girl initially — were arrested.

Bhasin said Nishu had planned the rape in advance and called the doctor to the spot after the incident to check the condition of the girl. Two accused, including an Army man, are still absconding.

Earlier in the day, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar reviewed with DGP BS Sandhu the progress in the investigation and shunted out the district police chief, as raids continued at several places to nab the men.

Khattar, who had a scheduled event in Jalandhar in Punjab, cut short his visit and reached Chandigarh in the afternoon, official sources said.

Rewari SP Rajesh Duggal, who has been accused of failing to take prompt action, has been shunted out and will be replaced by the SP of chief minister's security, Rahul Sharma, they said. Duggal will now lead a battalion of Haryana Armed Police in Hisar.

The victim's family had alleged that police had failed to take prompt action on their complaint and delayed action by citing jurisdiction issue between police units of Rewari and Mahendergarh districts.

The woman, a school topper hailing from Rewari who had been felicitated by the government, was abducted at a bus stop in Kanina town in neighbouring Mahendragarh district on Wednesday while she was on the way to a coaching class, police said. She was then allegedly drugged and gang-raped at a secluded spot. The woman was recovered from a room housing a tubewell for irrigation.

The owner of the property, Deendayal, who was among the two people arrested, told police that the three key accused had taken keys to the room from him on the day of the incident. The police claimed Deendayal knew about the crime, but did not report it. Some people have also been rounded up for questioning in connection with the case, police sources said.

The woman's family members told reporters in Rewari on Sunday that the woman was in "acute trauma". "The accused should be hanged," the woman's mother told reporters in her village in Rewari.

She also said that the family has decided to return a cheque of Rs 2 lakh handed over to them Saturday by district administration officials under the Haryana Victim Compensation Scheme, 2013.

"We do not want this cheque. Is this the price which is being put for honour of my daughter. All we want is justice. We used to hear about long arm of the law, but what is police doing. The accused are yet to be arrested," she said.

Police have provided security to the victim's family. Doctors at the civil hospital, Rewari, said that the victim's condition was stable, though she was in trauma.

The Haryana Police had set up a special investigation team headed by Bhasin and announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of the accused.

Police had Saturday released photographs and names of the accused, who have been identified as Army jawan Pankaj, Manish and Nishu. The accused live in the same village in Rewari and they knew the woman and her family, police said.

Lt Gen Cherish Mathson, who heads the South Western Command of the Army, had said in Jaipur Saturday that they would help the police in the probe.

The victim's father has said 8 or 10 men may have raped her but she could identify only three of them.

The case evoked sharp reaction from opposition parties who have demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on moral grounds, saying the state had failed to protect its daughters.