M A I N   N E W S

One held for photojournalist’s gang rape

Mumbai, August 23
The police today arrested a jobless youth and was looking for four other suspects, solving within 24 hours last night's gang rape of a photojournalist here amid massive public outrage and protests as it brought back memories of a similar incident in Delhi last year.

"We have arrested one of the accused who has named the others involved in the incident. The accused has also confessed to the crime," Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh told reporters.

More than 20 teams, including 10 from the elite Crime Branch, have been formed to track down the perpetrators, he said, as the police moved quickly to nab the culprits amid mounting public pressure and anger.

The city police chief declined to divulge identities of the accused lest the probe in the "extremely sensitive" case gets compromised but said two of them were history-sheeters with property related offences registered against them.

However, a top police officer identified the arrested as Chand Babu Sattat Shaikh alias Mohammed Abdul (19), a resident of south Mumbai who is unemployed. He named co- accused as Vijay Jadhav, Qasim Bengali, Saleem and Ashfaq.

Asked about the condition of the 23-year-old victim, an intern with an English magazine, he said she was "composed and stable". The victim, who resides in western suburbs, has been admitted to Jaslok Hospital. Preliminary reports suggested she sustained multiple internal injuries.

"The patient is with us after the unfortunate incident since last night. As of now, she is stable and Jaslok Hospital is doing its best," a statement from the hospital said. The police chief said medical examination of the victim was being done and a forensic team has also been pressed into service.

He said the police were trying to gather "clinching evidence" to ensure that the culprits get maximum punishment for the "shocking crime".

Giving details of the incident, the officer said it took place around 6 last evening when the victim and her colleague went to the deserted Shakti Mills compound in Lower Parel area for taking photographs.

The accused approached them and one of them told the victim's friend that he was responsible for a murder that had taken place in the area a few days ago. However, according to the police, a murder took place on the spot two years ago. When the victim's colleague said he had visited the place for the first time, the accused phoned an accomplice, who arrived soon and said he also suspected that the woman's colleague was the man who had committed the murder.

The accused then tied the hands of the victim's colleague and took her to a nearby thicket on the pretext of "examining" her about the murder where they raped her. — PTI

Victim undergoes surgery, stable

• The photojournalist underwent surgery on Friday, said a spokesperson for the Jaslok Hospital where she was admitted.
• The victim is able to speak though she is still in a state of shock.
• “She has been under treatment. She underwent a minor surgical procedure and now her condition has improved and stabilised. We expect a speedy recovery," said the spokesperson