Salt Lake gang-rape: Three accused arrested

Police said that Arnab Dey and Suvendu Nath are residents at Basirhat in North 24-Parganas. They were arrested from their relative’s house in Haroa.

The third accused, Sourav Bera was also arrested from the same place. All of them were arrested on Tuesday. 

The Tata Sumo in which the woman was raped was seized and was sent for 

forensic tests.

An investigating officer said that they had got hold of a mobile phone and it helped the police to arrest three of the four culprits within 24 hours of the incident. Police also came to know that all the four accused conversed in Bengali in the moving car.

All three of them were taken to the police station. While these three were arrested, the last accused is still on the run. Police conducted raids at various places in search of the fourth accused.

The accused confessed to the crime during interrogation and the police will be reconstructing the plot after arresting the fourth accused. Investigation further revealed that the car was hired by an IT company in Salt Lake and all the accused are drivers. 

In between trips to pick up and drop IT employees, the four youth often used to take trips in and around Salt Lake. On Sunday night, they had set out for a trip and found the woman waiting to get a car to reach Baguiati where she stays as a paying guest. 

The driver Suvendu had lied to the woman, saying that it was a shuttle car taking the two other persons to Baguiati.The investigation revealed that the car passed through different routes in and around Salt Lake for around three and half hours after kidnapping the woman. Sources said that medical tests confirmed that the woman was raped.

Police used footage from surveillance cameras to identify the roads through which the miscreants had passed.The accused will go through a Test Identification (TI) parade. Some BJP supporters had gathered outside Electronics Complex police station demanding stringent steps against the accused 

on Tuesday.

Besides arresting the accused, the Bidhannagar Commissionerate is also taking steps to ensure safety of people at night. 

A senior police officer said that patrolling in the area will be intensified and policemen in plainclothes will be on duty near hotels and restaurants in Salt Lake.

Police would also take steps to create awareness among people so that they do not take lift in cars of unknown persons. They may approach the police for help in case public transport is not available.