Nine held in Rampur molestation case
LUCKNOW: Nine of the 14 accused in the UP molestation case were on Tuesday arrested under the SC/ST and Goonda acts.
On Sunday, a video had gone viral showing two girls being molested by a group of 14 young men in Tanda town of Rampur district in western Uttar Pradesh.
The Rampur Police had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident from the video and had arrested the main accused Shah Nawaz the same day. Shah Nawaz was believed to have admitted to committing the crime during his interrogation. He had also revealed to the police that the incident took place on
May 21.
According to Rampur SSP Vipin Tada, a search was underway to nab the remaining five culprits in the molestation case. He said the decision to invoke the National Security Act against the perpetrators of the crime would be made after the statement of the victims and that it was being recorded. “The Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act was not invoked as both the victims were majors according to their documents,” the SSP said.
A deputy superintendent of police-level officer has been appointed as the investigation officer in the case.
The video of the incident showed a group of over a dozen boys abusing and molesting the girls on the roadside even as the victims are seen pleading. The miscreants filmed the entire episode and later posted it on social media.
According to local sources, two girls and a boy were spotted sitting in a field in a village in Tanda of Rampur.
When a group of youth was passing through the spot, they confronted the trio and started molesting the girls. As the boy present with the girls resisted the move, he was thrashed and the miscreants continued with their brazen act.