Bhopal rape accused nabbed by locals after they spot him without ID

The accused in a six-year-old's rape in Raisen was arrested in Bhopal after alert locals in the Gandhinagar area found him suspicious. The man, Salman, was searching for a rental home without an ID and was handed over to the police.

With the "full support and cooperation" from the local people in Bhopal's Gandhinagar area, the accused in the rape of a six-year-old girl in Raisen district was nabbed in the state capital in the early hours of Friday, a senior police officer said. The accused, Salman, reached Bhopal's Gandhinagar area and was looking for a rental home. The local people got alarmed as the accused had no ID card, following which the youth and locals of Gandhinagar apprehended him and handed him over to the police. "We got full support and cooperation from the local people. We received information from the locals about the accused and, acting on it, the police reached the spot and took the accused into custody," Inspector General of Police (IG), Mithlesh Shukla told ANI.

Locals alerted police

A local, Abdul Rizwan, told ANI, "Youths in our area were alert and active. They came to know that a man is searching for a house on rent and he has no ID card. His face also matches with picture of the accused in the Raisen rape case. They sent me his photo, and I spoke with the police to verify it. The police asked me to keep him with us. After that, the police came, and we handed him over to the police." He further added that all the locals in the Gandhinagar area demand that the accused be awarded the death penalty and that the minor receive justice.

Accused shot while trying to flee

Meanwhile, the police said that when the accused was being taken to Raisen, their vehicle got punctured in the Kiratnagar village area near Bhojpur, and the accused tried to flee by snatching a pistol from an official, and fired at the police. In retaliation, the accused was shot in the leg and admitted to Hamidia Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.

Sub Inspector Sunil Singh told ANI, "The accused, Salman, was being taken to Raisen when the vehicle transporting him got punctured. He had to be shifted to another vehicle. During this process, the accused snatched a pistol from an official and attempted to fire at the police. In the crossfire, the accused was shot in the leg, and one police official was also injured. The incident occurred between 3 and 3.30 am."

Inspector Vijay Tripathi, who shot at the accused, injuring him, told ANI, "The accused snatched the pistol of the police official and in retaliatory firing, the accused got injured. The accused also attempted to fire at police, and we fired four bullets and one of which hit the accused in the leg."

Details of the crime

According to the police, the rape incident occurred on November 21 under the jurisdiction of Goharganj police station, where the minor was playing outside her home. The accused, identified as Salman, lured her with chocolates, took her to the forest and raped her. The girl was found in a nearby forest area and immediately taken to the Obaidullaganj Hospital, where the doctors confirmed rape. She was then referred to Bhopal AIIMS for further treatment. (ANI)

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