To evade cops, Rewari accused disguised as beggars in Rajasthan fairs

GURUGRAM: While their act left entire nation cringing with horror, the two key accused in the Rewari gangrape - Army man Pankaj and his friend Manish - thought they had a usual "adventurous night" and went home to sleep after the gruesome deed on September 12.

Gangrape accused Pankaj and Manish after their arrest on September 23, 2018. Tribune file photo

Sumedha Sharma
Tribune News Service
Gurugram, September 27

While their act left entire nation cringing with horror, the two key accused in the Rewari gangrape - Army man Pankaj and his friend Manish - thought they had a usual "adventurous night" and went home to sleep after the gruesome deed on September 12.

Not only this, Pankaj, who insisted he was a true soldier, went to attend cremation of a martyr in a nearby village and it was only after two days that when according to them, the matter started "being blown up" did they flee on a bike to Rajasthan.

The revelations were made by the two during police interrogation where they claimed that they managed to evade arrest for 12 days by disguising as beggars in local fairs.

"It's a season of religious fairs in Rajasthan. We came to know from TV news that we were being trailed and were also running out of money so we decided to beg in these fairs. It not only helped us to hide ourselves but also made easy for us to make arrangements for food and place to sleep. We buried our mobile phones in ground to ensure we could not be tracked by any means," the duo reportedly told police.

Interestingly while police were looking around for them, the accused made a short trip back to Rewari from Satnaali in Rajasthan in train and after analysing the situation returned without anybody even getting a whiff of their movment.

The duo who were produced in a court today were sent to judicial custody till October 5. The police, meanwhile, also nabbed two relatives of Pankaj in Rajasthan for harbouring the criminals. They were were bailed out later.

Victim discharged from hospital, still in shock

The victim who was discharged from hospital today reached home to a flurry of visitors, forcing police to step in.

Her family issued an appeal to be left alone for sometime saying she was still in trauma and depression.

"For last two years she was toiling for Central job exams which she couldn't appear for and that has hit her badly. She needs to be alone and to ensure that we plan to send her off to relatives for sometime. I request all, including media, to leave her alone and not scar her any further," her father said.