Ghaziabad Gang-Rape Case Was 'Cooked Up' To Frame Men In A Property Dispute, Say Cops: What We Know

In a disturbing incident, an alleged case of brutal gang-rape of a Delhi woman in Ghaziabad who was mutilated with an iron rod has turned out to be fake. The alleged crime had been highlighted by Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal who shared a video pertaining to the incident on her social media account two days ago. However, according to police, the incident had been "cooked up" by the alleged rape victim to frame the accused men in a property feud.

On October 18, media outlets reported the brutal gang-rape of a 36-year-old woman in Ghaziabad. As per the reports, the woman had been found wrapped in a jute bag with her hands and legs tied. She had been gang-raped and tortured by five men who had abducted her before tying her up and leaving her there. The reports also mentioned that the woman was genitally mutilated with an iron rod which was reportedly left inside her body when she was tied up in the bag. The woman had claimed in a video that she had been waiting for a bus after her attending a function at her brother's residence when she was kidnapped by five men at the bus stop and gang-raped. 

The incident was highlighted after DCW chief Swati Maliwal on October 19 shared a video in which she narrated the incident and claimed that the horrific incident was similar to the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. She also said that the woman had been fighting for her life. 

In another tweet, Maliwal doubled down on her stand and tweeted, "A girl was gang-raped and thrown in a sack on the road after putting a rod inside her, but still some 'fake activist' of poor mentality is calling it a false case. The girl herself inserted the rod inside herself, put herself in a sack covered in blood and lay down on the road herself? Have some shame!"

While police at the time arrested four of the five men accused by the woman, these details remained unconfirmed. However, the police did mention a property dispute. As per a statement given by SP City (Ghaziabad), "On 18 Oct, Nandgram Police (in UP) received info that a woman is lying near Ashram Road. Police took her to hospital. She's a resident of Delhi and had come to her brother's residence in Nandgram". 

Now, the investigation by Uttar Pradesh police, however, has found that the incident may not have been entirely true. As per the police, the story of the gang-rape was allegedly cooked up by the woman to frame the men in a property feud. The police on Friday arrested the woman along with three men who had allegedly helped the woman in staging the kidnapping and gang rape. As per a report in NDTV, the woman even paid some persons to publicise the incident. 

Police have registered a case against a woman and three others after she allegedly levelled a "fabricated" gang-rape charge in an attempt to grab property.

The Ghaziabad police on Thursday dismissed as "fabricated" the Delhi woman's claim that she had been raped and brutalised by five men and that it had been hatched over a dispute over a "small" property.

Further NCW has also said that contradictory statements were made by the woman and her family members.

On Friday, Circle Officer (City-2) Alok Dubey said that the woman and her accomplices Azad, Afzal and Gaurav have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document which the person knows or has reason to believe to be forged).

Of the initial five suspects, the Ghaziabad police on Wednesday had said that four people had been taken into custody following the allegation of the woman.

During a press conference on Thursday, when asked if a clean chit will be given to the four of them, Inspector General, Meerut, Praveen Kumar, said, "We have not got any evidence against them...Prima facie, in this case, no such incident has taken place. So, there is no question of getting evidence."

On the women's claim that she was kidnapped, the officer had said, "No. She had gone to a designated place at her own will."

On Thursday, Inspector General Kumar had also said that during the investigation, it was found that Azad's phone was switched off around the time the woman purportedly disappeared.

On the property dispute, he said the dispute was about a "small" property.

"A woman named Sameena gave the property to Azad in 2021 who in turn gave its power of attorney to a man named Deepak Joshi. There was talk about giving this property to the Delhi woman. The case regarding this was going on in the court, the officer said.

Authorities at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital had on Wednesday said the woman's condition is stable and no internal injury has been found yet.

Nipun Agarwal, Superintendent of Police (City-I) Ghaziabad, on Wednesday had said the victim claimed that after raping her, the accused had inserted an iron rod in her private part but when the police tried to get her medically examined at a Meerut hospital, she refused.

"Doctors then referred her to the Meerut Medical College for treatment but she refused to go there as well. The woman was then taken to a Delhi hospital," the SP had said.

(with PTI inputs)