Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Sep 24: A police sub-inspector, a constable and two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have been arrested after a woman alleged that she was gang-raped at a farmhouse belonging to Uttarakhand independent MLA Umesh Kumar Sharma in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district.

The alleged incident took place late Tuesday night or in the early hours of Wednesday at the farmhouse in the Hasanpur police station area. The woman approached police after the alleged assault, following which a case was registered against the four men named in her complaint.

The arrested men have been identified as sub-inspector Sanjay Tomar and constable Pramod, both posted at Hasanpur police station, and CRPF inspector Lalaram and head constable Mohit.

According to the woman's complaint, the two CRPF personnel brought her from Meerut to Hasanpur. She alleged that the four men took her to the farmhouse on the pretext of visiting a religious site and sexually assaulted her there.

Police said the sequence of events and the individual roles of the accused remain under investigation.

Amroha Additional Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Bhadoria said all four men named by the woman had been arrested.

“We are investigating who played what role, from bringing the woman from Meerut to Hasanpur to what allegedly happened at the farmhouse,” Bhadoria said.

The two Uttar Pradesh Police personnel have been suspended and proceedings for their dismissal have been initiated, the officer said. The CRPF has also been informed so that departmental action can be considered against its personnel.

Meanwhile, farmhouse caretaker Ram Niwas has separately approached the Amroha superintendent of police, seeking an inquiry into the events at the property. In his complaint, Niwas alleged that the men intimidated him, abused him and threatened to kill him. He also sought an investigation into the woman's gang-rape allegation.

Niwas said he was informed over the phone that officials from the Union Home Ministry were coming to the farmhouse for an inquiry. According to his complaint, the group arrived at around 8 pm on Tuesday. When he reached the property at 10.33 pm, he said, a local sub-inspector, CRPF personnel and a woman were present.

He alleged that the men pressured him into allowing them access to the farmhouse.

Sharma, the independent MLA from Khanpur in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, said he had also lodged a police complaint regarding the incident.

According to Sharma, the visitors told the farmhouse guard that they had come to conduct a raid and that women officers were accompanying them.

“They said an operation was to take place in the area, after which they were given a room,” Sharma said, adding that he had complained to police about the entire matter.

Police said it was still being investigated whether the farmhouse was used with the MLA's permission. The allegations against the four arrested men and the circumstances surrounding their presence at the property are also part of the ongoing investigation.