india

Updated: May 08, 2019 07:59 IST

Five men on two motorbikes waylaid a couple travelling on a motorcycle in Rajasthan’s Alwar in late April, allegedly gang-raped the woman in front of her husband and beat him up, police said. One of the five accused, said to be a truck driver, was arrested on Tuesday.

According to Rajasthan director-general of police, Kapil Garg, “One accused, identified as Indraj Gurjar, has been arrested from Kotpulti area of Alwar district. Fourteen teams of police have been formed to catch the other accused persons.”

The incident took place on April 26 around 3pm when the woman, a Dalit, was going to Talvriksha from her village, Lalwadi, accompanied by her husband on a motorcycle, according to the FIR registered at Gaji police station on May 2.

Two of the accused held the man down and thrashed him while the other three raped the woman behind some sand dunes, the FIR said. Then the accused changed places, with the two men who were beating the victim going on to rape the woman. “They also made a video recording of the incident and threatened the victims they would kill them if they complained to the police,” the FIR said.

The police said the couple did not initially make a complaint but decided to do so after the video went viral.

The woman claimed the accused had threatened to upload the video on social media unless the couple paid a good amount of money, the DIG said at a press conference. The couple did pay them, she said, but decided to lodge a police complaint when the miscreants demanded more money.

A senior police officer said on condition of anonymity that according to preliminary investigation, Gurjar had come to his in-laws’ place and met up with his friends, Chotelal, Ashok, Mahesh and Hansraj on the day of the incident. “When Ashok and Chotelal went to the market to buy cold drinks, they spotted the couple passing by. They then called Indraj, Mahesh and Hansraj and followed them on their motorcycles for a few kilometers and then stopped them.”

The incident took a political turn on Tuesday with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders attacking the Congress government on grounds of a breakdown in law and order. At a press conference, state BJP president, Madan Lal Saini, demanded the resignation of chief minister Ashok Gehlot over the incident.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said: “The state government is committed for women safety. Nearly a dozen police teams have been formed to arrest the accused and one arrest has been made. The victim and her family are given protection.”