Notorious Dafer gang member arrested; had raped women in front of their partners

Ahmedabad: A little over a month after the first incident came to light from an area near Narmada canal, police in Gujarat have arrested a member of the infamous Dafer gang in connection with two separate cases of gang-rape. Identified as 45-year-old Akbar alias Lulo Sandhi, the suspect hails from Vasava village in the state's Viramgam district.

Sleuths with the Ahmedabad crime branch arrested Akbar from the state capital on Friday.

The first case was reported from Achrasan Patia Road near Narmada Canal where a girl and her boyfriend were intercepted by three members of this gang on the night of October 10 of this year. When the couple told them that they were not carrying any valuables, members of the gang tied up the hands and legs of the boy and the girl. They then dragged her to the side of the road and took turns raping her in front of her boyfriend. A helmet snatched from the boy was recovered from Akbar's personal belongings.

In the second case, a woman and her husband sleeping in a shed in their field on the outskirts of Achrasan village were woken up in the middle of the night by three members of the same gang. After they found out that the couple had nothing of value at home, the three men gang-raped the wife at knifepoint in front of her husband and fled the spot. Akbar was one of the three men who committed both these crimes, however, the other two remain at large.

In-charge of Ahmedabad crime branch, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Rajdeepsinh Jhala told a leading national daily that Akbar's involvement in both of these cases has been confirmed. He added that members of the Dafer gang targeted couples and sexually assaulted the women if they could not rob anything of value. Their involvement is suspected in more than 18 cases of burglary, possession of illegal weapons and pickpocketing in Sanand, Bavla, Kalol, Bagodara, Mehsana, Bavla and Kadi police stations among others.

Meanwhile, local police have heightened patrolling in areas near the Narmada canal owing to a spike in robbery and rape cases in the district. They suspect that several cases of sexual assault and robbery in the area may have gone unreported. Members of the Dafer gang used stolen vehicles to commit these crimes, confirmed a local police officer familiar with the recent cases. Going by the most recent inputs, a hunt is underway for other members of the gang with the help of information gathered from Akbar.