5 Chandigarh constables sacked for 'raping minor for weeks'

Five Chandigarh police constables were arrested on Friday and dismissed from service on the charge of raping a minor girl.

The constables Jagtar, Akshay, Himmat, Sunil and Anil were produced before a district court in Chandigarh which sent them to three-day police remand.

The accused, all residents of Khuda Lahora village in Chandigarh, have been arrested and a case under various sections of IPC had been registered, a release issued by the Chandigarh police said.

Four of the accused were arrested on Thursday, while Anil was apprehended on Friday, they said.

Official sources said the five constables have been dismissed from service.

A Class 10 girl had on Thursday lodged a complaint, alleging that she had been raped and molested by five constables for one and half months.

In her complaint, the victim alleged that a few weeks ago, she had called police following a dispute with a relative. But the constable, who had answered her call allegedly, started harassing her on the pretext of recording her statement.

The constable also allegedly took her in a vehicle and raped her at gunpoint, she said, adding that four of the accused's colleagues joined him later and sexually exploited her for weeks.

Members of Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress on Friday staged a protest outside the Sector 17 police station in Chandigarh, demanding dismissal of all the accused constables allegedly involved in the incident.

BJP activists also held a demonstration outside the Chandigarh police headquarters in Sector 9 and at some other prominent locations, including Sectors 22 and 16.

Police resorted to mild cane charge to disperse the protesters.

Image: An anti-rape protest in New Delhi

Photograph: Reuters