Mhow Cantonment assault-rape case: What we know so far
Two Army officers were assaulted, and one of their female friends was allegedly gang-raped by armed men during a picnic in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district on Wednesday. According to an official report, the Madhya Pradesh police have arrested three out of the six main suspects. The two officers, both Majors undergoing training at the Army War College in Mhow Cantonment, were out with two women in the Jam Gate area when the attack took place.
What are the charges against the accused
On Thursday, two assailants, Anil Baror (27) and Pawan Bansunia (23), were remanded to five days of police custody. Ritesh Bhabhar (25), accused of threatening the women with a pistol, was arrested later that night. Following a complaint lodged by one of the officers, a case was registered under sections 70 (gang rape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion), and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as under sections of the Arms Act.
How the attack unfolded
Badgonda police station in-charge Lokendra Singh Hirore said the assailants held an Army officer and his friend captive in a car at gunpoint, demanding ₹10 lakh ransom from the other pair nearby on a hilltop. Madhya Pradesh police have identified six out of the seven suspects based on the complaint. Superintendent of Police (Rural) Hitika Vasal said multiple teams are searching for the three remaining suspects, and a ₹10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to their arrest.
Past criminal record of arrested accused
Police records show that the three arrested men have prior criminal histories. In 2016, Baror was charged with robbing a finance company's collection executive, and in 2021, he was arrested for attacking a police team with stones during a family dispute. Baror and eight others were also charged on July 1 for removing poles and barbed wire from a reserved forest. Additionally, Bansunia was booked in an excise case after police seized illegal liquor from him in September 2021.
Opposition leaders slam Mohan Yadav government
After the Mhow incident, several opposition leaders slammed the Mohan Yadav-led MP government. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi hit out at MP's Bharatiya Janata Party government. "The violence against two army officers and the rape of their female companion in Madhya Pradesh is enough to shame the entire society. Law and order in BJP-ruled states is almost non-existent," the Raebareli MP said in his post on X.
