Gurgaon/Gohana, Sept 29
The police today claimed to have arrested all the four accused in connection with the gang rape of a teenage girl in Gohana town of Sonepat district.

Two accused Kali and Harish were arrested yesterday, while Santy and Deepak were nabbed today, Gohana Deputy Superintendent of Police Yashpal Singh Khatana said. All the arrested have been sent to judicial custody.

The girl, a Class XI student of a private school, was raped on Thursday afternoon when she had gone to a shop in Gohana’s main bazaar to buy some groceries. Harish, who was at

the shop of Amit alias Kali, told her to pick up the items from the godown where the duo, along with Deepak and Raman alias Santy, overpowered her and allegedly took turns to rape her.

While the incident took place on September 26, the family reported the matter to the police on September 28. In the meantime, Harish, the main accused, was thrashed by the victim's brothers and was taken to PGIMS, Rohtak. It is learnt that Harish's family lodged a police complaint against the girl's brothers after he was beaten up and then her family reported the rape.

Local traders said the victim, who lost her father some time ago and comes from a family of modest means, was offered around Rs 5 lakh to cover up for the boy's "mistake", but the victim's family decided to register a case of rape. The medical examination of the victim confirmed rape, sources said. The forensic team has collected samples from the crime spot.

The incident, the third in a series of gang rapes in Haryana in three weeks, seems to have benumbed the town with shopkeepers avoiding talking about it. "Madam, ab to ladke pakde gaye. Aap log kyun kuch chhaap ke ladki ki zindagi kharaab karna chahte ho? Hum sab chahte hain ki kuch aisa ho taaki uski zindagi bach jaye. Ye police-volice se kuch nahi hoga (The boys have been caught. Writing about the case will only bring shame to the girl and her family, please don't. We just want a decent future for the girl)," said Ram Kumar (name changed), who owns a grocery story in the same market.

While the panchayat was scheduled to meet today to discuss the incident, they did not and kept the venue of the next meeting under wraps. "Both families will be called and we will work out something. We will resolve the matter in our own way. We don't want the media or police to be at this panchayat," said a panchayat member.

The police also cancelled a scheduled press conference to announce the arrest of all four accused and chose to send out a press note.

Haryana Women Commission vice-chairperson Chander Parbha visited the victim's residence and also met the police to track the progress in the case.