Techie gangraped in Jharkhand, SIT formed

According to the police, The engineer was allegedly raped by around 10 men near the old aerodrome in Chaibasa on Thursday evening when she was out with a male friend on a two-wheeler.

West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar said a case has been registered at the Muffasil police station and an investigation is underway to identify the accused. Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) of Chaibasa Sadar, Jagganathpur, and the officer-in-charge of Mufassil police station are members of the SIT, Shekhar said.

He said: “The woman works for a Bangalore-based IT company and was here as she was working from home. We have rounded up some suspects from neighbouring villages. There is a possibility that the accused may know the girl. We are investigating the case.”

The police said the accused had beaten up the woman’s friend and allegedly raped her after taking her to a secluded spot. They also took away her belongings, including phone, they said.

The woman managed to reach home and told her family about the incident after which they filed a police complaint.

The BJP demanded Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s resignation over the incident.

“Soren’s government is absolutely insensitive towards the incidents of rape that have happened in the state over the last three years,” former Chief Minister Raghubar Das of the BJP told PTI.

A sense of insecurity was prevailing among the people of the state as law and order had completely broken down, he claimed.

“Soren, who is also facing corruption charges with uncertainty looming large over his tenure, should immediately resign on moral ground as Jharkhand is becoming the rape capital,” he added.

The ruling JMM said those accused of the gangrape would not be spared and the police were working to ensure stringent punishment to them.

“The state government has been taking prompt action in such cases and will do it in the Chaibasa incident as well,” JMM spokesperson Mohan Karmakar said, rejecting the BJP’s allegations as an attempt to tarnish Soren’s image.

The BJP is nervous over the overwhelming support the Soren government is getting for its welfare programmes, he claimed.

“The government is making all possible efforts to further strengthen the police department,” Karmakar added.  With PTI inputs