2016 Mewat Double Murder, Gang Rape: Special CBI Court Convicts Four

Haryana's CBI court in Panchkula held four accused persons guilty of gang rape of two girls and murder of their uncle and aunt from a minority community in Nuh district eight years ago. The quantum of sentence for those who have been held guilty will be fixed on April 15.

New Delhi:A special CBI court in Panchkula on Wednesday convicted four gang members in the infamous double murder and gang rape incident in Haryana's Nuh district in the Mewat region in 2016, officials said. The court convicted Hemant Chouhan, Ayan Chauhan, Vinay and Jai Bhagwan, all notorious criminals with multiple charges of heinous crimes against them, they said.

The sentence will be pronounced on April 15, the court has said. They had entered the house of the victim on the intervening night of August 24-25, 2016, armed with lathis, iron rods and a hand pistol. The criminals gang-raped a woman and a minor female in their home. They then went on to loot ornaments and cash from them.

"Due to the attack, a male family member along with his wife died and others got grievous injuries. The initial investigation was conducted by Haryana Police which had filed a charge sheet in the case on November 21, 2016," a CBI spokesperson said.

The CBI then took over the investigation on a reference from the Haryana government. During the probe, the agency collected scientific and forensic evidence such as DNA profiling and fingerprinting. The CBI probe resulted in the identification of seven accused who were not part of the charge sheet filed by the Haryana Police.

After a meticulous investigation, the CBI filed two supplementary charge sheets on January 24, 2018, and on November 29, 2019. The special court had framed charges on March 15, 2021, taking note of the accused persons charge-sheeted by the Haryana Police as well as the CBI, the spokesperson said.

Four of the seven accused arraigned by the CBI were convicted by the Special Court on Wednesday while three were acquitted. The accused cited by the Haryana Police were also acquitted.