Three arrested in Rishikesh minor rape case, hotel manager and operator among accused

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun

The Rishikesh police arrested three people on Tuesday in connection with the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl at a hotel in Rishikesh. The main accused, along with the hotel manager and operator, has been arrested, police said. The superintendent of police (Rural) Jaya Baluni said that police have found lapses in the hotel’s verification and record-keeping procedures.

The accused, Sofiyan (21) hailing from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly took the girl to Hotel Ganga Inn near the Old Railway Station. The girl was later admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh by her family after her health deteriorated.

Baluni said that the police arrested Sofiyan from under the Singh Dwar flyover in Haridwar. “A mobile phone was recovered from him, photographs and videos of the girl were also found on the phone,” she said.

During the investigation, police found that the hotel had allegedly allowed the minor to enter without proper identity verification and without making the required entry in the hotel register. Bhaluni said that police found that the CCTV cameras were switched off when the girl was taken out of the hotel.

Following questioning, hotel manager Vaibhav Gupta and operator Rahul Agrawal were also arrested after their alleged involvement came to light.  Baluni said that police have also sent a report to the Rishikesh sub-divisional magistrate seeking cancellation of the hotel’s licence under the Sarai Act.