2 orchestra dancers gang-raped in UP, 8 arrested   

Police have arrested eight men for abduction and gang-rape of two orchestra dancers at gunpoint in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district.

The accused perpetrators forced the victims into their vehicles and took them to a house where the crime was committed, police said.

The victims were abducted at gunpoint from a house under Ramkola police station jurisdiction on Monday night, according to police.

The perpetrators arrived in two SUVs and, amid continuous firing, took the girls to the house of one of the accused Ajit Singh in Kaptanganj area, where the alleged gang-rape took place, said Kushinagar Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Mishra.

Nagendra Yadav, Ashwan Singh, Krish Tiwari, Arthak Singh, Ajit Singh and Vivek Seth were arrested on Monday night.

Nisar Ansari and Aditya Sahni were arrested after an encounter on Tuesday evening, police said.

Accused Arthak Singh is the son of Aditya Pratap Singh, a local BJP member, a party leader said. "Aditya Pratap Singh is a member of the BJP," said the party's Gorakhpur district president Yudhistir Singh.

Another accused Vivek Seth is a practicing doctor in Gorakhpur.

According to police, a cache of weapons, including illegal firearms and ammunition, and vehicles, were recovered from the accused. The seized items included two SUVs, a motorcycle without a number plate, an illegal factory-made pistol, seven shot guns, four illegal pistols, 10 spent cartridges, 12 live rounds, 11 mobile phones and a Nepali SIM card.