Three men have been arrested, and a minor detained, for the alleged gang rape of a 35-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter, who was also strangled to death, in Haryana's Jind.
Superintendent of Police, Jind, Kuldeep Singh, said the four suspects were arrested on Saturday near a canal bridge on Ikkas Bypass, following a tip-off. On Sunday, the three arrested —Hameed Khan (46), Biru (18), and Shiva (19) — were produced in the court and remanded to police custody for one day for further questioning.
The police stated that while they have not yet obtained identity proof of the accused so far for age verification, both Biru and Shiva are confirmed to be over 18 years old. The 13-year-old minor has been sent to a juvenile correctional facility. The four suspects had been on the run since the incident was reported, following the survivor’s complaint on April 24.
The incident took place on the night of April 21, following a heated argument between the woman and Khan, as per officers at the Jind City Police Station, where the FIR has been filed. The four accused were reportedly drinking alcohol near the woman's shanty in Tapriwas Colony, Jind.
The woman, a ragpicker, whose husband was not available at home that night, got involved in a spat with the group. Enraged after she reportedly adressed Khan with a derogatory word, he pulled her by the hair and took her to a nearby garbage dump near the railway tracks. Hearing her mother's screams, the woman's daughter followed them, according to the police.
The accused allegedly trapped the child in a blanket. Khan raped the woman, while the others took turns assaulting the daughter, the police added. When the child screamed and struggled, Shiva and the other two allegedly smothered her by pressing her mouth and neck, leading to her death.
The accused then allegedly gangraped the mother, leaving her unconscious at the site before fleeing, the police said.
The following morning, residents of the locality found the child's body about 100 meters from her mother. Bloodstains were found on the child's mouth and legs, and visible injury marks were seen on her neck, according to the police. Believing the death to be accidental, the family buried the child near the Bankhandi Mahadev Temple without informing the authorities. On April 23, after regaining consciousness, the survivor recounted the horrific ordeal to her family. The next day, on April 24, she filed a complaint at Jind City Police Station.
Under the supervision of SP Singh, the police exhumed the child’s body in the presence of a duty magistrate, and sent it for postmortem examination at the BPS Government Medical College for Women, Khanpur Kalan, in Sonepat.
The autopsy report confirmed that the five-year-old had been gangraped before her death, corroborating the mother’s account. The medical examination of the mother also confirmed gangrape.
Following the postmortem, the police added charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, along with sections corresponding to gangrape and murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The survivor is currently receiving medical care and is reported to be stable, the police said.
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