Chandigarh, September 29
The Chandigarh police today arrested two suspects, including Pankaj, the son of Haryana police personnel, posted at Ambala, in connection with the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault on a German tourist. Three others, who are presently absconding, have been identified as Sukhi, Jolly and Soma. The sixth suspect is yet to be identified, but he hails from Daroli village.
The police said Shoba Singh and Pankaj of Jhandli village in Ambala had been arrested, while Sukhi and Soma of Bitta Village and Jolly of Samalkha are at large. The Black Mahindra Scorpio belonged to Sukhi’s relative and Jolly had a criminal past and said to be involved in several cases. Giving details at the Sector 17 police station, Chandigarh, ASP Madur Verma said Pankaj along with another suspect had dropped the victim in Sector 20 on Sunday in his white Maruti car.
The ASP said the police got the lead from the description of the car and the some numbers given by some of the passerby. The registration numbers were of Yamuna Nagar, Panipat and Ambala. The police got the information that a Maruti car with similar description had been traced and a police team was dispatched to Ambala with the victim to identify the vehicle. The victim identified the car, which led to the arrest of the suspect.
The ASP further added that he had given details about his accomplices following which the raids were being conducted to nab the accused. Answering a query, he said the victim’s family had agreed to make her available to assist in the investigation.
Police sources said the victim was kept in a farmhouse in
Ambala district and the police would take her there for the identification of the crime spot. The police initially refused to divulge the name of the accused until they were arrested.
The police has also seized the car (HR01-8794) in which the victim was brought back to Hardeep’s Sector 20 residence. She had come here to attend the marriage ceremony.
Meanwhile, the victim had got her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before the judicial magistrate Palwinder Kaur claiming that she wasn’t raped, but assaulted sexually. The statement was recorded after the victim’s medical examination at the Sector 16 Government Multi-Specialty Hospital today.
Highly placed sources said though the victim had denied rape both before the police and the magistrate, she had confided to the contrary.
