Bareilly, June 7: In a major breakthrough for the Uttar Pradesh Police in the Bareilly gangrape case, two accused were arrested on Saturday night after an encounter, while the third accused was arrested on Sunday One of the accused was hit on a leg. The remaining four accused are still absconding. The arrested accused have been identified as Vishal Patel and Anuj Patel. The 18-year-old Dalit girl was reportedly gangraped by six men in Bhagwanpur Dhimri village on May 31. She was also assaulted by the accused.

A complaint was lodged at the Izzatnagar Police Station on June 5. As per a report published in The Times of India, the encounter took place at cane fields in the village. One of the accused opened fire at cops and tried to flee. The name of the seventh accused, identified as Vikas Kumar, cropped up during the investigation. Kumar reportedly clicked pictures of the sexual assault. He was arrested by the police on Sunday. Uttar Pradesh Shocker: 16-Year-Old Dalit Girl Gangraped by 3 Men in Hathras on Holi.

According to the report, a villager, who was an eyewitness to the crime, helped the police during the investigation. The accused also took all the money from the girl. “We have arrested Vishal Patel (22) and Anuj Patel (23). Vishal was leading the gang. He was shot in his right leg and has been admitted to a hospital. The name of another person, identified as one Vikas, has also come up,” reported TOI quoting Bareilly SSP Rohit Singh Sajwan as saying.

The girl was gangraped when she went for a ride on her scooty with her two school friends during the COVID-19 lockdown. She was allegedly dragged from her vehicle and was gangraped. Chargesheet has been submit before a court. The FIR was registered against the accused under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the SC/ST act.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2021 12:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).