Pune gangrape case: 2 arrested men gave false information about third absconding accused, say police

Pune: Police have told a Pune court that two persons arrested in the October 3 case of gangrape case of a 21-year-old woman near here tried to mislead them by giving wrong information about their friend who was also involved in the crime and is at large.

The police have now found the real name of the third accused and they are on a mission to find him, a crime branch official told the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class on Tuesday.

The police requested the court to grant them custody of the two arrested accused, who were in judicial remand, for further investigation in the case.

The court then granted custody of the two accused to police till November 8.

The two accused arrested in the case have been identified as Chandrakumar Raviprasad Kanojiya, a native of Madhya Pradesh, and Akhtar Babu Shaikh, hailing from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, according to police.

Shaikh also gave wrong name of his father to police, the official said.

The woman was allegedly raped by three men on the night of October 3 in the Bopdev Ghat area on the outskirts of Maharashtra's Pune city during an outing with a male friend. The assailants beat up her friend too.

Police had declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information about the culprits.

Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar last month said their aim would be to complete the investigation as soon as possible, file chargesheet and fast track the case for early conviction.

He also said that as all three suspects had criminal records in theft cases, they ensured that they avoided CCTV cameras while fleeing after committing the crime.