Haridwar gang-rape: All 3 accused held as mother made her boyfriend, aide to sexually assault 13-year-old daughter

HARIDWAR: A day after a former BJP woman functionary from Haridwar was arrested for allegedly allowing her boyfriend and his associate gang-rape her 13-year-old daughter on several occasions in her presence, the third accused in the case was held on Thursday, police said. The woman, who had held senior positions in the party's district unit, was expelled following her arrest on Wednesday. Her 33-year-old boyfriend was also taken into custody the same day.The third accused, aged 25 years, is from Meerut and employed at a SIDCUL-based company. He had been staying at his brother-in-law's house in Haridwar. "The accused was preparing to flee the city when he was nabbed on Thursday morning. He met the woman through his brother-in-law, who knew her estranged husband," said Kamal Mohan Singh Bhandari, SHO of Ranipur police station.Police said that they are collecting evidence and have sent a team to Agra and Vrindavan, where, too, the girl was allegedly assaulted in a hotel room.Initial probe revealed that the woman, who had been living separately from her estranged husband, allegedly forced her daughter to consume alcohol so that the two men could rape her. The child's ordeal started in Jan when she was first sexually assaulted in a vehicle, in which her mother was also present.The teenager was also assaulted at a Haridwar hotel, leased in the name of her mother and her boyfriend. The accused allegedly threatened to kill her father if she spoke about the abuse.After months of trauma, the survivor gathered the courage and confided in her father, who filed a police complaint on Tuesday. A case was filed under BNS sections 70(2) (gang rape), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (criminal act by several persons in furtherance of common intention), and provisions of the Pocso Act.Social activist RM Dobhal said, "Police should investigate the motive behind this heinous crime and look into how the BJP functionary managed to rise so quickly to key positions within the party organisation."(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)