Police seek PCR of five accused for interrogation
Wednesday, 21 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The statement of the victim in the Dehradun ISBT gangrape case will be recorded before the magistrate on Wednesday. Besides this, a key witness also provided a statement before the court on Tuesday in the case, the Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh said. He said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed on Monday to thoroughly investigate the case and ensure robust legal proceedings against all the five accused. The SIT has been collecting all relevant evidence and conducting a comprehensive review of the case. He stated that a surveillance team was dispatched to Delhi to gather crucial evidence and CCTV footage related to the incident. They successfully retrieved significant evidence from the Kashmiri Gate bus station and surrounding areas, Singh stated. He informed that the police also submitted a petition to the court requesting the recording of the victim’s statement at the Balika Niketan in the presence of a counsellor. The victim’s statement is scheduled to be recorded before the magistrate on Wednesday. The SSP stated that all important evidence and testimonies will be meticulously included in the case file. The SIT is also preparing to obtain a police custody remand (PCR) of all accused to ensure a thorough investigation and expedite legal proceedings, he added. Police arrested five men on Sunday on charges of raping a minor girl inside Uttarakhand roadways bus at the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Dehradun in the wee hours of August 13. According to the police, the bus departed from Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate at 4:30 PM on August 12 and arrived in Dehradun around 10:30 PM. The five accused allegedly raped the girl in the ISBT parking lot inside the bus. Later, a security guard at the ISBT noticed the girl, around 1:30 AM on August 13, who was sitting at a shop while a man was allegedly interacting with her. The guard alerted the 1098 Child Helpline after finding the situation suspicious. The girl was then placed under the care of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Balika Niketan for her safety. She disclosed about the rape with her on the fourth day during counselling session after which, CWC filed a police complaint. The police arrested all the five accused, who worked for Uttarakhand Roadways, on August 18.
