Mumbai, Aug 23: Acting swiftly, Mumbai Police on Friday cracked the gang-rape case of a young photojournalist, arresting one of the accused within 24 hours of the incident and identifying four others, including two criminals, for whom a massive manhunt has been launched.
"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.
An earlier report attributed to the police had said two accused had been arrested. Senior Congress leader Murli Deora said five suspects have been arrested. "This case has been cracked. Five persons have been arrested and are in the lock-up," he had earlier told reporters.
Singh said more than 20 teams, including 10 from the crime branch, have been pressed into service to track down the perpetrators.
The city police chief declined to divulge the identities of the accused lest the probe in the "extremely sensitive" case gets compromised but said two of them were history sheeters with property offences registered against them.
A top police officer, however, identified the arrested accused as Mohammed Abdul alias Chand, while he named others as Vijay Jadhav, Qasim Bengali, Saleem and Ashfaq.
Asked about the condition of the victim, 23, an intern with an English magazine, he said she was "composed and stable".
The victim has been admitted to Jaslok Hospital. Preliminary reports suggested that she sustained multiple internal injuries.
A statement from the hospital said, "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."
Tarang Gianchandani, acting CEO and director - medical services of the hospital, said, "We are doing the needful ... she is under strict observation."
Singh said a forensic team has also been pressed into service.
He said the police are trying to gather "clinching evidence" to ensure that the culprits get maximum punishment for the "shocking crime".
The government, he said, would be requested for the case to be tried by a fast track court.
"The incident happened between 6pm and 6.30pm when the girl and her colleague had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound for a photoshoot," said Singh.
The city top cop said the accused are in the age group of 20 to 22 years and are said to be residing in the nearby localities.
Singh said the quick arrest of one of the accused was facilitated by the statement of the victim's colleague, who was present at the scene of the crime.
The "near perfect" sketches of the perpetrators were prepared on the basis of his statement that helped nab one of them, he said.
Giving details, the city police chief said the incident occurred around 6pm on Thursday when the victim and her colleague had gone to the desolate Shakti Mills compound for taking photos.
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.
When the victim's colleague said he had visited the place for the first time, the accused phoned an accomplice, who too arrived soon and said he also suspected that the photojournalist's colleague was the man who had committed the murder.
In a chilling reminder of the December gang-rape in Delhi, the men tied up the victim's friend and raped the woman after taking her to a nearby thicket on the pretext of "examining" her about the murder.
A 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally gang-raped by six men inside a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, last year. The victim died in a Singapore Hospital on December 29.
Singh said then the five men took turns to commit the heinous crime.
He said the girl was admitted to hospital around 8pm and police came to know about the incident around 8.30pm.
Singh said police would soon issue necessary instructions to owners of deserted compounds to put up warnings against trespassers.
In Delhi, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said he had spoken to the Mumbai Police commissioner over the case.
The incident triggered strong reactions from opposition parties and they demanded the resignation of Maharashtra home minister RR Patil.
"If you can't improve the law and order situation in Mumbai, you must resign," BJP state unit president Devendra Fadnavis said.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray also gunned for Patil and alleged that the NCP leader had proved to be a "complete failure" as home minister.
Patil, who visited the Jaslok Hospital to inquire about the condition of the victim, expressed confidence that other perpetrators would also be nabbed soon.
"We have taken the incident very seriously. No one will be allowed to spoil the law and order situation," he said.
Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters in Aurangabad that it was not proper for opposition parties to demand Patil's resignation.
Earlier report:
Police release sketches of 5 accused in scribe gangrape case
Mumbai, Aug 23: Mumbai Police today released sketches of five accused in the shocking gangrape case of a 23-year-old photojournalist here and picked up about 20 people for questioning besides fanning out teams across the city to track the culprits.
A day after the photojournalist, who was working as an intern with an English magazine was gangraped allegedly by five men, a special squad has been formed by the local police as well as by the Crime Branch to probe the case.
"We have taken the case very seriously and are working on it on a war-footing. We have activated all our informers and at the same time released sketches of the five accused. We hope to catch the accused soon," said a police official.
The sketches have been prepared on the basis of the description provided by the victim's male colleague, who was tied up by the accused before they sexually assaulted the woman.
The woman was allegedly gangraped by five men at around 8 PM yesterday near Shakti Mills in Lower Parel area of the metropolis.
The victim was on an assignment, doing a story on 'chawl' when the offence took place, police said.
In a chilling reminder of the December gangrape in Delhi, the men tied up the victim's friend and raped the woman.
The accused were apparently in 24 to 30 years age group.
Police are likely to parade about 20 suspects, who have been picked up in connection with the case, before the male colleague of the victim for identification, sources said.
Earlier, police said they have picked up about 20 people for questioning but obtained no leads in the case so far.
In a statement given to police, the girl said the five goons were present in the Shakti Mills compound. They started making lewd remarks and harassed her. When her friend intervened, two of them assaulted him. Three others took her inside the dilapidated structure and raped her.
The victim has been admitted to Jaslok Hospital. Preliminary reports suggested that she sustained multiple internal injuries, they said.
Dr Taran Gyanchandani, acting CEO of the hospital, said, "We are doing the needful...she is under strict observation."
A gangrape case has been registered in N M Joshi Marg police station.
The statement of the victim's friend has been recorded, police said.
They claimed the victim has identified two of the accused by their names. She told police that two of them were calling each other as Rupesh and Sajid, they said, adding that some drug addicts have been picked up from the area for questioning.
Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil had visited the victim at Jaslok hospital.
"This is a very serious matter. We have taken note of it. The accused will be arrested soon," Patil told reporters outside the hospital.
He said Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh has been directed to ensure that the culprits are arrested soon.
Jaslok Hospital, where the victim is admitted, said in a statement that "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."
"With regards to patient confidentiality, we cannot give you any further information," Dr
Tarang Gianchandani, acting CEO and director - medical services, Jaslok Hospital, said.
Meanwhile, all journalist organisations in Mumbai have decided to hold a silent protest against the deteriorating law and order situation in Maharashtra state and the city, a Mumbai Press Club statement said here.
The journalist organisations will also meet state Home Minister R R Patil and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to press for early action in the case, the statement said.
Earlier report:
Photojournalist gangraped in Mumbai, police detain 20 suspects
Mumbai, Aug 23: Out on an assignment, a young photojournalist was allegedly gang-raped by five men who badly beat up and tied up her male colleague in a deserted south Mumbai factory on Thursday evening in a chilling reminder of the Delhi gang-rape that shook the nation.
Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh said seven to eight men had been rounded up.
However, according to TV reports, police have detained about 20 people suspected of the crime; several others are alos being questioned. They also hope to crack the case soon as they have 'good leads' on the suspects.
The victim and her friend were taken to the local Jaslok hospital, where her condition was said to be stable. Hospital authorities said she was initially in a state of shock.
The woman, who is in her early 20s, had gone to the Shakti Mill compound in Worli with her colleague for a feature on old buildings that her publication was planning to run.
Her statement was being recorded after which a case would be registered, joint commissioner of police (law and order) Sadanand Date said. “We have formed teams comprising local police and crime branch to investigate the matter,” he said.
Soon after 7pm the girl, accompanied by a male colleague arrived at the spot, which is not very far from the busy Mahalaxmi railway station but is rather deserted, five young men accosted them. They assaulted the man, tied him up and then took turns to rape the woman.
The journalists’ cries for help went unheard as no one was around. The crime reportedly took place at around 8pm at the back of the mill compound, where they had arrived by walking along the railway track.
The Worli-Lower Parel belt in Mumbai has several deserted mills, some of which have been developed into commercial establishments.
According to unconfirmed reports, the men tricked the journalists into accompanying them into the mill, away from the railway track, by promising to get them permission to click photographs.
When compared with Delhi, Mumbai is considered a safer city for women. But lately, India’s financial capital has been gaining notoriety as far as crime against women is concerned. On Sunday, an American woman was robbed on a local train.
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