In the latest update in the Bopdev Ghat gang rape case, the Pune police had earlier arrested two accused identified as Chandrakumar Kanojia from Pune and Akhtar Shaikh from Uttar Pradesh. The court had granted police custody till October 15 to Kanojia while Shaikh was arrested on October 14 from Prayagraj. In the latest development, the Pune sessions court judge A.A Kulkarni has granted fourteen days judicial custody to the accused reserving the right to identification in Police custody.
Earlier the police had visited the crime scene with the arrested accused while they identified the crime spot in the presence of the investigating officers the police seized the sticks and pieces of cloth used in the crime.
Akhtar Sheikh, the second accused was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, however, he has not been produced in court yet. The Pune police are still searching for the third absconding accused involved in the rape case.
Further investigations revealed that all three accused allegedly consumed alcohol and marijuana before committing the heinous crime at the Table Point area on Bopdeb Ghat on October 3. All three accused are on-record criminals and were previously booked for theft-related crimes. The accused did odd jobs in Pune and indulged in criminal activities. They allegedly switched off their mobile phones at Saswad and dispersed after learning that an FIR was registered on October 4.
The police with the help of CCTV footage procured from a petrol pump and a dhaba tracked the two accused and arrested them. The identification of the accused will be carried out in the presence of the victim and her male friend who was tied to the tree and allegedly assaulted by the accused.