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An Army man is among the three accused in the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old woman in Haryana.
According to Haryana Police, the accused Army man is posted in Rajasthan and a police team has been sent to arrest him.
The three accused allegedly abducted the woman from a bus stop and raped her in Mahendragarh district.
“Out of the three accused, one is an Army man and a police team has gone to Rajasthan to arrest him. I am sure that he will be arrested today,” he said.
The hunt for the other two accused is also on, he added, expressing confidence that they will land in police net soon.
Sandhu said all the three accused were known to the victim.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to probe the case.
According to the complaint, the woman was allegedly kidnapped by the accused who arrived in a car and was taken to a secluded place where she was raped after being offered a drink laced with sedatives.
The accused left her near a bus stop in Kanina later in the day.
However, the father of the young woman, a school topper who was felicitated by the government, told reporters on Friday that she could have been raped by 8-10 persons.
Her mother has accused the police of failing to take action in the case.
She said on Friday that her daughter was in a state of shock after the incident, while the accused were “roaming freely” after the incident.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) stepped in Saturday as all three accused continued to evade arrest.
In Jaipur, Lt Gen Cherish Mathson, who heads the South Western Command, said the Army will help bring the rape accused to book.
“We do not shelter criminals. We would facilitate in searching out the accused, and will make sure that if any Army man is found involved in the rape case, he is brought to the book,” he told reporters at an Army event.
Also on Saturday, the National Commission for Women (NCW) condemned the incident and asked the Haryana police chief to give an update on the probe.
The special investigation team, led by Nuh Superintendent of Police Naazneen Bhasin, visited the crime spot.
Bhasin told reporters in Rewari that the sketches of the accused will soon be released by police.
Their antecedents are also being checked for any past criminal record.
She said a medical examination had confirmed rape.
The victim’s mother had accused the police of delay in acting after a complaint was filed, but Bhasin countered the charge.
She said the police sent out raiding teams when they were told about the crime. “But the accused had left the place on the day of incident, according to their mobile forensics."
Multiple teams have been formed to nab them, she said.
The SP said police personnel attended to the victim properly.
"The most important factor was to make the victim comfortable to take her statement in a sensitive way,” she said, adding there was no delay in this procedure.
The Army man who allegedly raped the woman was identified as Pankaj, posted in Kota.
Narnaul and Rewai police are also looking for the other two men, the Haryana police chief said, expressing confidence that they will be caught soon.
Sandhu said all the three accused were known to the victim.
He said an FIR was registered as soon as the victim lodged her complaint, and a medical examination conducted.
She was kidnapped by three men who arrived in a car and was taken to a secluded place where she was gangraped after being offered a drink laced with sedatives, the complainant had alleged.
The accused later left her near a bus stop in Kanina the same day.
The case evoked sharp reaction from the opposition parties. They demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on moral grounds, saying the state had failed to protect its daughters.
(With PTI inputs)
