JHANSI: The Jhansi district administration has recommended to the Uttar Pradesh government to slap the stringent National Security Act against the eight college students arrested in connection with the rape of a minor girl at a hostel here.
The accused have been sent to 14-day judicial custody at a temporary COVID-19 jail, officials said.
According to police, the girl was allegedly raped by one of the accused on Sunday while others stood outside the hostel even as an examination was underway on the polytechnic campus and teachers were busy conducting it.
District Magistrate Andra Vamsi on Wednesday said all eight accused have been rusticated from the college.
"The district administration has recommended to the state government to book the accused under the National Security Act (NSA). To gather scientific evidence, medical examination of the accused has also been done," he said.
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Under the NSA, an individual can be taken into preventive detention without a charge for up to 12 months if the authorities are satisfied that the person is a threat to national security or law and order.
Jhansi's Senior Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar P on Wednesday said barring the eight accused, no other name has cropped up in the case so far.
"Anti-Romeo squads, along with police force, have been deployed at the polytechnic and other colleges," he said.
Meanwhile, the polytechnic principal said, "The hostel was closed and in this situation, the accused took advantage as no security personnel was deployed there. All of them have been rusticated."
Earlier on Wednesday, the SSP said, "Since, the crime spot was a bit away from the college building, nobody noticed it,".
All accused were arrested by Monday night and they have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SSP said.
He also added that it is a matter of probe as to how the students reached the hostel of the polytechnic despite it being closed.
"During the probe, it was found that all accused are students of the government polytechnic.
They also extorted Rs 3,000 from the girl by blackmailing her," the SSP had said on Tuesday.
Police said the girl had gone to meet a friend and they were near the college when the accused forcibly took her to the hostel.
She said the accused also thrashed her friend when he tried to intervene.