2 more held for CG gangrape, extorted accused to keep crime under wraps

Raipur: Two more persons were arrested on Saturday in connection with the alleged gangrape, blackmail and extortion case involving a minor girl in the Silyari police limits of Raipur district.According to Raipur (rural) police, the probe threw up an extortion ring that was being operated by the suspects to fleece the two rape accused in exchange for keeping their crime under wraps.Shockingly, according to the police, the suspects were in touch with the minor’s grandfather as they fleeced the rape accused.The two persons behind the gangrape had already been nabbed earlier.According to a press release issued by the sleuths, a case was registered for rape after medical examinations confirmed sexual assault on the minor.The probe later took an unexpected twist as, according to a press release issued by the sleuths, the three repeatedly blackmailed and extorted the two accused as a price for keeping the gangrape under the lid.Pursuing the blackmail angle, the police picked up the survivor’s grandfather, followed by two others, on the weight of corroborative evidence.Detailing the wider conspiracy in the case, the sleuths said three persons visited the culprits and their kin, demanding huge sums of money to settle the matter.

According to the police statement, the suspects visited the culprits’ houses twice, staying in touch with both the accused and the minor’s grandfather over phone, as a go-between.Money allegedly changed hands, the sleuths said, through cash payments and digital transfers.On May 28, the suspects (names withheld), along with another accomplice, drove to the houses of the two accused, threatening their kin with public exposure of the crime and imprisonment if their monetary demands were not made.Raipur Rural police added Section 308(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with other sections, after the new disclosures and revelations came to light.The two suspects were produced before a court, which remanded them in judicial custody.Their accomplice remains absconding, the police said, adding that searches were underway to nab him.