22-year-old man kidnaps, rapes former classmate

A Kamalpura village resident and his unidentified accomplice have been booked in a rape and kidnapping case here, said police on Saturday.

The victim ,19, a resident of Gagda village in Jagraon is the daughter of a head constable in Punjab Police. The accused has been identified as Gurpreet Singh, 22. His accomplice is yet to be identified, said police.

In her police complaint, the victim told the police that she and her cousin had gone to attend a Teej function at her college in Sidhwan Bet on Friday.

On the way back to home, the scooter-borne duo was waylaid by Gurpreet Singh, who along with his accomplice, pushed the victim in his Mahindra Bolero.

Following this, Gurpreet drove her scooter while his accomplice took her to Gurey village, Mullanpur, in the car.

The victim alleged that the accused took her to a house, where Gurpreet forced her to consume liquor and raped her. After the victim regained conscious, she managed to escape from the house but collapsed on the road. The locals informed the police and she was rushed to hospital.

Sub-inspector (SI) Ramandeep Kaur, who is investigating the case, said they found the victim in Gurey village and rushed her to local hospital, from where she was referred to civil hospital in Sudhar, however, she was further referred to Ludhiana civil hospital for treatment.

The SI said that the victim’s condition is stable now.

The victim told the police she had joined a coaching centre in Jagraon, where the accused was her classmate. She had left the centre two months ago.

The SI said, “The victim has recorded her statement and a case has been registered under Sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused. The police have launched a manhunt for the arrest of the accused.