Surat rape case: Prime suspect and 2 others arrested
In a major breakthrough in the rape and murder of 11-year-old girl in Surat, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested the prime suspect Harsh Sai Gurjar on Friday. Gurjar was nabbed from Rajasthan after the police detained two other accused Ram Naresh and Hari Gurjar from Surat on Thursday. A married laborer having two children, Gurjar fled with his family to Rajasthan on April 16.
An investigation in the matter revealed Gurjar had bought a mother-daughter duo from Rajasthan for Rs. 35,000. The mother "went missing" on March 20, after which Gurjar allegedly said he would 'take care of the daughter'. The little girl was held captive for seven days, tortured, and raped. On April 5, he strangulated her to death and dumped the body.
After allegedly killing the girl, Harsh dumped her body near Pandesara, driving in a car he borrowed from Naresh. About 200 meters away from the girl's body, a woman's desolated body was recovered on April 9. The locals identified the woman as the mother of the girl, and police sent DNA samples for test. The child's body was covered in 80+ wounds, shocking officials.
"A team of around 400 policemen was deployed in the case, which included Crime Branch, Surat police, etc. With the help of technical force, mobile data and CCTV footage, the movement of the car and accused were traced and they were nabbed," said Gujarat's Home Minister.
To identify the victim, police put up 1,200 posters. An Andhra couple claimed she was their daughter, and a DNA test will be conducted to reveal the truth. Just when the entire nation was raging over the murder and rape of 8-year-old girl in Kathua, what happened in Surat (the victim was gang-raped and tortured with wooden objects) hung the nation's head in shame.
