Rewari rapists took woman's photos, made her drink liquor

GURUGRAM: The special investigation team (SIT), probing the gang rape of a 19-year-old woman in

Rewari

on September 12, has recovered photos of the survivor from the mobile phone of Army jawan Pankaj, one of the prime accused who has already been arrested in the case.


Although the SIT is tight-lipped about the findings in the case so far, sources told TOI that some of the photos were clicked on the day of the crime after she was drugged and kidnapped at a bus stand in Kanina (Mahendergarh) and driven to Naya Gaon (Rewari) in Pankaj’s car. And the photos were clicked in the car, in which Pankaj was sitting next to the woman.

Further, the forensic reports have indicated that the survivor was made to drink alcohol in their captivity, after being drugged in the morning. Traces of alcohol have been found in her blood samples collected during the first medical examination after the gang rape. A senior cop said the accused wanted to ensure that the woman lost her senses and thus gave her alcohol, which, along with the

sedative

, eventually worsened her condition.

On Wednesday, a Kanina court granted bail to Abhishek and Manjeet, who were arrested on Tuesday for giving shelter to Pankaj and another prime accused Manish. Abhishek is Manish’s brother-in-law, while Manjit is Manish’s cousin. Investigation so far revealed that Pankaj and Manish had fled their village on September 14 and stayed with Abhishek in Mahendergarh for a few hours but they didn’t tell him the reason for their visit. Then the duo went to Manjeet’s place in Rajasthan. The court released Abhishek and Manjeet on a surety of Rs 25,000 each.

Pankaj and Manish were arrested on September 23, while Nishu was picked up a week before that and currently in judicial custody.

The SIT, on the other hand, has appealed to people in Naya Gaon and surrounding villages to come forward if they knew about any other crime committed by these accused in the past. “Nishu has confessed to bringing girls to the room in the past too. Some were paid sex workers, others were lured by him and raped. But we need them (survivors) to come out and report the crimes. Without a complaint, our hands are tied. Whereas, another complaint will only make the case stronger,” said Shrikant Jadhav, ADGP, Haryana.