The accused were arrested within three hours of the crime.
A minor Dalit girl was gang-raped in front of her boyfriend by three college students in Rajasthan's Jodhpur on Sunday, the police said today. The three students, who assaulted the girl's boyfriend before taking turns to rape her, were arrested hours later.
The teen and her boyfriend allegedly eloped from Ajmer on Saturday and arrived in Jodhpur by bus around 10:30 pm. They went to a guest house to get a room, but left after the caretaker misbehaved with the girl, senior police officer Amrita Duhan said.
While the couple was standing outside the guest house, the three accused -- Samandar Singh, Dharampal Singh and Bhatam Singh -- approached them and befriended them by offering food and promising to find them a place to stay. At 4 am on Sunday, the accused tricked the two into going to the hockey ground at the old campus of JNVU by telling them that they would take them to the railway station.
After reaching the ground, the three students assaulted the boy, gang-raped the minor girl, and fled the spot, the police said.
The three made a hasty retreat as morning walkers began to arrive on campus. The girl's boyfriend sought help from them, who then called the police.
Within three hours, the police launched a search for the accused, deploying a dog squad and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team, and with the help of CCTV footage, tracked down the three at a house in Ganeshpura in Jodhpur. They tried to escape but fell and were injured. Two of them fractured their legs, and the third sustained an injury to his hand, Ms Duhan said.
The police have also arrested the guest house caretaker for allegedly harassing the girl.
A case has been registered against them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
According to the police, the accused were campaigning for a student leader running for students' union president at Jai Narayan Vyas University (JNVU) as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate. The ABVP categorically denied any links with the three.
"No one of our workers is involved in the incident with a minor girl student in Jodhpur To tarnish the image of the organization such things have been done and wrong information has been given without facts," the RSS-affiliated student organisation said in a statement.
The heinous incident has sent shockwaves across the state, with the opposition BJP targeting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and demanding strict action.
Responding to the remarks, Chief Minister Gehlot accused the BJP of making "false allegations" for political gains.
"Our daughters deserve safety and respect. Rape incidents are a stigma for civilized society. No matter how much you condemn such heinous acts, it will remain less. But instead of condemning such incidents, BJP leaders always start making false allegations against the government for political gains," he said in a statement.
"No matter how influential the accused is, the state government will secure the harshest punishment to the culprits to get justice for the innocent daughter," he added.
As politics escalated over the incident, the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI), announced that the student group will submit a petition to the governor on Monday to protest against the ABVP.