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Daily News & Analysis

Saturday, March 08, 2008



Another Jhagadiya shocks people
Accused in February gangrape of a tribal girl said to be involved in this case too
Maulik Buch. Vadodara
The Jhagadiya police have lodged a formal complaint against eight persons charged with gangrape of a 15-year-old minor girl. Incidentally, all the eight accused in the case are believed to be involved in a similar case - gangrape of a tribal girl of Jhagadiya. The police will now conduct an identification parade of the accused on Saturday. The revelation of the gangrape has, however, sent shockwaves in the area, which has yet to overcome the shock of the tribal girls' rape. According to reports, on January 21, a minor girl along with her boy friend, Kamlesh Vasava, had gone to outskirts of Ranipura village to share some intimate moments. While the two were together, a group of eight persons rushed towards them. They pounced on the couple and forced the two to along with them to a nearby river canal. Two of them tied the boy, Kamlesh, with ropes, while the others raped the hapless girl. After the shameful act, the alleged rapists threatened the couple not to tell anyone about the incident. They also threatened to kill the girl if she spilled the beans.Incidentally, the Ranipura incident took place about 10 days before the Jhagadiya rape case which had shocked the people. In fact, the Ranipura incident came to light only after the arrest of the accused in the Jhagadiya case. A formal police complaint in the rape of the minor girl was lodged only on Wednesday. The eight accused in the case have been identified as Pankaj Vasava, Prakash Vasava, Mukesh Vasava, Prakash Vasava, Sanjay Vasava, Nitin Vasava, Ajay Vasava, Yogesh Vasava . The police officials said they had sought permission from court to bring the accused, already in judicial custody in the tribal girl rape case, for identification. "The court has granted the police the permission to conduct an identification parade on Saturday. The minor rape victim was sent to the civil hospital for medical examination on Thursday," said the officials.