MUMBAI, Aug 25: All the five accused in the gangrape of a photojournalist in a secluded area of a defunct mill here have been arrested by police with the remaining two suspects on the run being held today three days after the crime which will be tried in a fast track court.
The Maharashtra Government announced appointment of noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as the special public prosecutor in the case that has triggered outrage across the country even as Mumbai police intesified the hunt to trace the mobile phone used to shoot pictures of the brutal attack.
Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali (21), a resident of Agripada in central Mumbai and one of the accused, was arrested at 4.15 AM today from Mumbai Central while his accomplice Siraj Rehman Khan (24) was arrested last night. Both were remanded in police custody till August 30.
Another accused Salim Ansari (27) was arrested from Delhi by Mumbai crime branch sleuths today. He was arrested from Bharat Nagar in North-West Delhi, when he was on his way to a relative’s house in the capital. He was taken to a hospital for medical test and later to Mumbai where he would be produced before a court tomorrow, police said.
Two others involved in the case, Vijay Jadhav and Chand Babu Sattar Shaikh, were arrested earlier. They were yesterday produced before the court which remanded them in police custody till August 30.
All the five accused have been booked under various Sections of IPC such as 376(D) (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention).
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said in Pune this evening that that the gangrape case would be tried in a fast track court to ensure speedy justice to the victim. Chavan also said he had asked Nikam to appear as public prosecutor in the case.
Nikam confirmed the development saying that Chavan and Home Minister R R Patil had called him up to inform about his appointment as the prosecutor. “I have given my consent,” he told reporters.
The 23-year-old victim, working as an intern with an English Magazine, was gangraped in the premises of the defunct Shakti Mills Compound where she had gone along with a male colleague on an assignment to shoot pictures on August 22.
Jaslok hospital’s acting CEO Dr Tarang Gianchandani, meanwhile, in a statement, said, “The victim’s condition is steadily improving from all aspects. She is eating normally and her medical parameters are in control. Team of experts specially assigned to this patient is continuously monitoring her.” (PTI)
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