Kota (Rajasthan): All nine accused, including a woman and two boys, were arrested on Tuesday for the alleged abduction and gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar, police said. The teenage girl from Suket town of Kota district was allegedly raped at separate places by nine people over eight days, Kota Rural police said. Kota Rural SP Sharad Choudhary had announced a cash reward of Rs 5,000 in connection with the arrest of the rape accused.

Meanwhile, the statements of the minor rape survivor were recorded on Tuesday before the city magistrate. Speaking to the media, the SP said three of the accused accused, identified as Chothmal Mali (20), Pooja Jain alias Bulbul (around 19 to 20) and a minor boy were arrested late on Monday night from Suket and Ramganj Mandi areas of Kota district while three other accused identified as Arshad Ayub alias Chinta, Toshif alias Nana and Shahrukh, all residents of Jhalawar district, were arrested by a district special team (DST) from Jawar in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday morning.

The remaining three accused – Shahrukh, Raja Khan and another minor boy – had already been arrested on Monday, he added. Two among the nine accused are minor boys and they were also detained, he added. The rape survivor on Saturday approached Suket police station with her mother and lodged a case of gang-rape against the 9 identified persons following which the police registered a case under IPC Sections 363, 376(D) along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act, the SP said.

In her complaint, the teenage girl alleged that Bulbul was familiar to her along with Chothmal Mali. In the pretext of buying her a bag on February 25, they took her on a motorbike to Jhalawar where 3-4 other youths also joined them. The girl alleged that Bulbul and Chothmal left her with the youths, who took her to Gagron Fort and other places in Jhalawar district where she was raped.

On March 5, Bulbul and Chothmal took the minor survivor back to her home in Suket where she narrated her ordeal to her mother following which the case was filed. As Bulbul and Chothmal were familiar with the girl, she did not resist going to Jhalawar with them, the SP said.

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