Bid to rape 2 Delhi women,BSP MLA’s guards held

The women,who are in their 20s,were returning to Delhi with two friends after a holiday in Rishikesh when the incident took place late Tuesday night. Police said the two men with the women sustained injuries when they resisted the abduction.

Confirming the incident,SSP Muzaffarnagar Praveen Kumar identified the arrested men as Dilshad Rana,Ragid Rana and Mashroor Rana,all in the age group 20-25. “They have been accused of abduction,attempt to rape and of causing injuries to the victims,” Kumar said.

Their questioning led to the detention of Narender and Jarar who are personal security guards of Bijnor MLA Shahnawaz Rana (BSP) and his wife Intikhab Rana who was recently elected chairperson of the Muzaffarnagar zila panchayat.

“The gunners have been detained for questioning,” Kumar said. The police are on the lookout for another gunner,identified as Shamshad,and three others,Junaid,Irshad and Javed.

In a statement to the media,Rana condemned the incident and called for strict against the guilty. “The government has provided me security but I cannot be held responsible for their personal behaviour or keep tab on their activities… Those named in the FIR are not known to me… neither does my family nor do I own any of the cars mentioned in the report,” he said.

According to police,the women and their two friends were returning to Delhi on Tuesday after a vacation in Rishikesh. Around 11.30 pm,the driver of their Innova stopped it at a service station on the highway,saying the headlights were not working. The women,who were on the rear seats,were fast asleep. One of their friends stepped out to inspect the vehicle.

“I reached for a bottle of water on the driver’s side when a red Pajero with a red beacon approached us. The man driving the SUV stepped out,inquiring why we had stopped in the dead of night. He noticed the snag and said he could help. By then,two other men got out and began fixing the light,while he made a call to someone on his cellphone,” one of the men,who is a complainant in the case,told Newsline over phone.

Within minutes,the headlight was fixed. It was then that a WagonR car also turned up. “It all happened so fast. The man standing next to me pulled out his gun and held it to our driver’s head. He asked us to get into the car and remain quiet. We did as they told us and two men from the WagonR got into our car. The next thing we knew,we were taken to a canal,a few kilometers from the petrol pump,where the men asked us to remain in the car while three men took the women outside,” the complainant said.

A white Fortuner SUV also showed up and more men got out. They started beating the two men with sticks while the three outside attempted to rape the women. “The women fell unconscious… they threw us back into our Innova and threatened to kill us if we informed anyone about the incident,” the complainant said.

According to the victims,the men followed them till they left the area. A police officer said: “They called up their relatives in Delhi who dialled 100 and narrated the incident to Delhi Police. They were then directed to UP Police and a team was dispatched to locate the victims who had crossed Meerut by then.”

The case was reported to the Civil Lines police station in Muzaffarnagar where the accused have been booked under IPC sections dealing with abduction,attempt to rape and causing injury.