Screengrab from a video of the arrested individuals in the case. DH has not independently verified the video.
Credit: X/SachinGuptaUP
Police have arrested eight men in connection with abduction and gang-rape of two orchestra dancers at gunpoint in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, one of whom is the son of a BJP leader.
The incident happened on Sunday night, as per a report by Hindustan Times.
Two hours later, the police managed to rescue both the women from Ganesh Crossing. They were kept inside a Fortuner vehicle.
The accused, identified as Nagendra Yadav, Ashwan Singh, Krish Tiwari , Arthak Singh, Ajit Singh and Dr Vivek Seth, were arrested on Monday night. Two other accused Nisar Ansari and Aditya Sahni were arrested after an encounter on Tuesday evening, police said.
The publication spoke to Assistant Superintendent of Police Ritesh Singh, who said that the kidnappers had forced the victims to dance at gunpoint to celebrate a birthday party.
The report also reveals that the two victims are residents of Gaurihi village, where they lived in a rented room.
The miscreants reportedly reached their place on Sunday night and demanded they open their doors or be ready to face dire consequences.
Frightened by the threats, one of the dancers called upon the owner of the place, who came out of the house and asked the miscreants to leave.
The miscreants then proceeded to fire two rounds in the air, pulled out the victims, pushed them inside their Fortuner, and drove off.
The owner, Amanullah, then called on 112 to inform the police, who sprung into action and nabbed the kidnappers within a couple of hours.
According to police, a cache of weapons, including illegal firearms, ammunition, and vehicles, were recovered from the accused. The seized items included two SUVs, a motorcycle without number plate, an illegal factory-made pistol, seven-shot guns, four illegal pistols, ten spent cartridges, twelve live rounds, eleven mobile phones, and a Nepali SIM card.
(With PTI Inputs)