One held for minor’s rape behind TB ward

Nagpur: The Imambada police investigating the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl behind TB ward, on Friday evening rounded-up a man identified as Sonu Gupta alias Nitish Jaiswal, a resident of Rambagh Colony, on suspicion.
Cops said Gupta has a criminal record. Gupta has claimed before cops that he was in Wardha at the time of the incident and returned to the city on Friday.Local residents, who knew about Gupta’s criminal past and suspected his role in the rape case, informed cops when he returned to the city on Friday afternoon.
Cops had released a sketch of the accused. The girl had told cops that the accused was a 5’7’’ tall man in his 20s who sported a beard and wore earrings in both ears. Cops stated that the accused had worn a grey T-shirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident. Gupta has similar features but he was clean shaven when he was rounded-up. However, he is yet to be identified by the rape survivor.
Cops said an eyewitness had seen the girl getting cosy with a man in the abandoned quarters. They added that the CCTV images show that the girl was with a man but she is denying this.
Earlier, cops had paraded a few suspects before the rape survivor but she was unable to identify the accused.
Sources said the girl, a yellow belt in karate, hasn’t been able to recognize the accused. “As she is very young, we can’t pressurize her. But we are trying our best to nab the culprit,” zone IV DCP G Sreedhar told TOI.
Tense scenes were witnessed at Imambaba police station after hundreds of people, including the girl’s relatives, some city-based politicians and activists, had rushed there after the incident for demanding arrest of the accused. DCP (crime) Ranjankumar Sharma, ACP Nilesh Raut, G Sreedhar and other senior officers too had reached the police station. Imambada senior police inspector and his squad are investigating the case.
(Reporting by Vishakha Virkhare)