School girl abducted, gang-raped in UP; two arrested

Meerut (UP), Oct 10 (IANS) A class 11 student, on her way to school in an auto-rickshaw, was abducted at gunpoint by two men and taken to a hotel in Hapur where a third person joined them and gang-raped her, police said on Tuesday.

The main accused and the hotel owner have been arrested.

In her police complaint, the 16-year-old survivor stated that after reaching Asauda Panth on Kithore Road in Hapur, the accused took her away on a motorcycle to the hotel, where three raped her at gunpoint.

They threatened her with dire consequences if she informed anyone, she added. The complaint added that one Ayush Kumar, a resident of a village in Meerut, boarded the auto and two of his friends, Gaurav and Hrithik, residents of a nearby village, started chasing the three-wheeler on a motorcycle.

Despite the threats, the survivor managed to return home and share her ordeal.

The family then took her to Hapur police station and lodged a complaint. All the three accused are school dropouts, police said.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP) (Hapur), Raj Kumar Aggarwal, said, "The crime took place on Saturday morning. Based on the survivor's complaint, a case under IPC sections 376-D (gang-rape), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 5/6 of the POCSO Act was registered."

He further said, "The main suspect, Ayush, and the hotel owner, Navneet Kardam, have been arrested. The girl was sent for medical tests and reports are awaited. Her condition is stated to be stable and we have formed teams to arrest the remaining accused."