Mumbai, August 26
Investigators probing the gang rape of a young photojournalist in Mumbai last week were all set to file the chargesheet in the case following the arrest of all accused, Police Commissioner Satypal Singh told reporters today.

”We are now focusing on filing the chargesheet as quickly as possible. We will ask for the strictest punishment for all accused,”  he said.

The fifth accused arrested in the case was, meanwhile, remanded in police custody till September 5.

According to the Police Commissioner, the crime was not preplanned. None of the five accused arrested in the case were minors with the oldest being 27 years of age,” he said. The officer went on to deny a claim by the grandmother of one of the arrested youths that he was a minor. “None of them is a minor,” he said.

One of the accused was illiterate, two had studied up to sixth standard while the remaining two had studied up to seventh standard, he said.

The officer said three of the accused-Chand Bahu Sattar Sheikh, Vijay Jadhav and Mohammed Qasim-had criminal record. While the first two had one case of theft each registered against them in 2011, Qasim had three cases of theft and one of robbery. All of them lived in the vicinity of Shakti Mills, the scene of crime.

They were unemployed and survived by committing petty crimes, he added.

The police was also trying to establish if they had committed similar crimes in the past, he said. “We are looking into his aspect, but as of now, we have received no such complaint. The accused have also not made any such confession during the interrogation,” he added.

Media reports had suggested that the accused could be involved in some incidents of rape at the desolate Shakti Mills compound in the past which were not reported as they took pictures of the victims and threatened them with blackmail if they informed the police.

Clothes worn by the attackers at the time of the assault have also been recovered. Investigators have seized mobile phones of four assailants so far. One of them had allegedly sold his mobile phone and the authorities were trying to track the buyer.

The Police Commissioner said experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory and Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory would assist the city police in gathering “clinching evidence” against the accused. While the team from CFSL had already arrived, the one from Gujarat would reach soon. (with PTI inputs) 

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