Eight people arrested for woman's rape, murder in Rohtak

The Rohtak police, Haryana, on Monday claimed to crack the gangrape and murder of a mentally challenged Nepalese girl.

After protests in Rohtak city, and criticism for acting late, the DGP announced the arrest of eight men; one was on the run. Later, news came that the ninth, Sombir committed suicide by consuming poison in Bawana.

All are from Gaddi Kheri village, 12km outside Rohtak city, 2km away from where the girl's mutilated body was found, in a field in Bahu Akbarpur village.

Rajesh, Sunil aka Shilla, Sarwar, Manbir, Sunil aka Maddha, Pawan, Pramod and Santosh were arrested at various points during the day.

The 28-year-old Nepalese girl was staying in Rohtak with her elder sister, getting treated for depression at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences. She went missing on February 1. The family says that the police did not act for two days.

Her body found on February 4. The PGIMS autopsy report gave her cause of death as "cranio-cerebral damage with utero-vaginal rupture and rupture of large gut rectum and anus which are ante-mortem in nature, homicidal in manner." Her head had been bashed in, her vagina, rectum and anus were all ruptured.

One theory doing the rounds is that the girl had been lured by Santosh, a Nepalese boy, who might have known her.

This is denied by Anil, a Gaddi Kheri resident and the brother of Sunil aka Shilla. Santosh had been living with Anil and Shilla for the past two years. He worked in their shop "Sheila Cold Drinks" on the main Hisar road, and returned home with them every night. This is contrary to the police statement that says Santosh worked in Sombir's shop.

Sombir, Anil says, worked in a factory.

"My brother and Santosh are good men," said a visibly stunned Anil, his mother breaking into sobs. Shilla was arrested around 12:30pm by the police, Santosh a little later from Rohtak city's Huda Complex. On Sunday night, Anil recounts, the police picked up Santosh for 20 minutes and then sent him home.

"They swore they didn't have anything to do with the case," says Anil. However, Anil is uneasy as the night of the rape, Shilla had come home at 11:30pm, drunk. Anil says that he used to sometimes drink with Maddha (the other Sunil on the police list), who runs a liquor shop. "Maybe that's why they took Maddha, because he runs a liquor business. But he is a good man, with two children," says Anil, looking increasingly helpless.

The police first approached Anil and other shopkeepers road, in case they had seen something.

Most in Gaddi Kheri are acting like nothing has happened. Some, however, quietly point the way to the families' homes. The shocked families of the accused say that the police gave them no reason why these men were being arrested in the case. They have no idea what evidence led to their names. Any such question is met with blank, hapless silences.

"Maybe they arrested him because he runs a liquor business and came home late," said Dilbar Singh Rathi, a retired army hawaldar and Pawan's uncle.

Trying desperately not to break down, in halting English, Rathi said that if evidence proved his nephew's guilt, the police should shoot him in front of him. Else, he would fight till the Supreme Court. Pawan was arrested by the police at 4 pm, on his way back from a factory.

Rajesh, another accused, had been staying with Anil and Shilla for the past few days. He had no family or job in Haryana, just an estranged mother in Punjab. Padam is the son of a former Sarpanch, who passed away recently.

The police say that the accused have confessed to them, and they will be produced in Rohtak's district court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, protests are still erupting all over Rohtak, and the NSUI has called for a candlelight vigil at Jantar Mantar Delhi.