Police arrest primary suspect, 2 others for gang rape of mother and daughter in India

Police in India have arrested the main accused along with two other accomplices involved in the gang rape of a 35-year-old woman and her daughter in Bulandshahr, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The incident occurred on 29 July.

After almost 10 days of investigations, police managed to arrest the main accused on Monday (8 August), who is a member of the Bawaria gang – that reportedly comprises of tribal people – mostly involved in cases of robbery.

Director General of UP Police, Javeed Ahmed, confirmed the news at around 11pm local time on Monday. According to a report in the Indian Express, two of the accused were caught from Mawana area of UP's Meerut district at around 10pm. The primary suspect has been identified as Salim Bawaria.

According to reports, the suspects were already under police surveillance for the last five months for their alleged involment in several criminal cases.

"The 15-member gang was active in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. They were also involved in a dacoity in Hanumangarh area of Rajasthan," a senior police officer said and claimed that the gang is from Chaimaar community, a tribe based in Rajasthan – a northern Indian state bordering Pakistan.

The woman and her 14-year-old daughter were gang raped for almost three hours by the accused who had allegedly held them at gunpoint. So far police have detained 18 people and investigations are underway.

The victims were on their way from the city Noida in the state to Shahjahanpur along with other family members when their vehicle was stopped near the National Highway number 9. The family was accosted by the suspects, who assaulted their victims.

The accused also snatched Rs 11,000 (£127, $165) and some jewellery from the victims before escaping from the scene.