Protest at police stn after pregnant migrant’s rape

LUCKNOW: Gomtinagar police station witnessed protest by a group of around 250 people early on Saturday morning after a woman in her late 20s was allegedly raped by a scrap contractor in Makhdoompur the previous night. With the protesters, who accused the police of partisan behaviour, spilling onto the road outside the police station, traffic around the busy Manoj Pandey Crossing was hit during the morning rush hour.Police eventually registered an FIR against the accused contractor and one of his two aides allegedly involved in the crime.
Around 1am on Saturday, Vishwanath and Qitab Ali reached the woman’s shanty located near Shaheed Path and woke her and her husband up. The duo told the woman’s husband that scrap contractor Subhash Yadav wanted to meet the couple immediately. With their two-year-old daughter in tow, the couple entered Subhash’s house which was located near the shanty. Here, it is alleged that Qitab and Vishwanath took away the woman’s husband forcibly while Subhash sexually assaulted the woman. It is said the woman was pregnant and pleaded before Subhash to spare her.
A migrant from Assam, the woman’s husband informed others migrants in the area. Their neighbour Ehlaan said that police control room was alerted and cops from Gomtinagar police station too were informed. However, police did not arrest the culprits. Around 9am on Saturday, a large crowd marched to Gomtinagar police station to register their protest. It was then that cops arrested Subhash and Qitab. Vishwanath, however, managed to escape. Officer incharge of Gomtinagar police station, sub-inspector Shyam Babu Shukla said the couple collected garbage from housing societies in Gomtinagar Extension. Contractor Santosh Yadav used to buy scrap from scores of rag pickers including the couple.
Shukla said cops were not informed about sexual violence initially and night duty policemen thought a fight had broken out between the male ragpicker and the contractor. The woman was sent for medical examination. While Subhash was booked for rape, the other two have been booked for criminal conspiracy.