Budaun: The rape accused in the Badaun gang-rape case who was absconding since the matter came to light has been arrested by Ughaiti police. Mahant Satyanarayan had a Rs 25,000 reward on him which was later increased to Rs 50,000.
According to sources, he was hiding in one of his devotee's house. The villagers caught him and handed him over to the police.
The police got information about the Mahant in this case on Wednesday itself, because Mahant's mobile was turned on once. When that happened, the SWAT team tracked him down to the village on Thursday.
At the same time, the higher officials also reached the spot and the accused Mahant is being questioned.
Meanwhile, a case has also been filed against Ughaiti Station Officer after he was found to have derailed on duty.
Following the CM's order, Raghavendra Pratap Singh has been suspended. The post-mortem report of the victim has also leaked under Singh's look after.
Replacing Singh, Devendra Kumar Dhama has been posted as the new Station Officer at Ughaiti police station.
The 50-year-old woman, who had gone to a temple, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Sunday. Her family members accused the temple priest and his accomplices of raping and killing her.
A case was registered against the accused and two of them were arrested on Tuesday night, while the priest was absconding for almost five days before he was held.
The incident triggered an opposition outcry and a comparison with Delhi's 2012 Nirbhaya case after the post-mortem report confirmed rape, a broken rib cage, a fractured leg and injuries in the private parts of the victim.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered, "strongest possible action" in the case even as opposition parties have launched an attack on his government, terming the incident "horrific" and "shameful", with the Congress comparing it to the Nirbhaya case.
Also read: "Same pattern as Unnao, Hathras": Congress attacks UP Govt over Badaun gangrape case
Amid the opposition uproar, the Chief Minister's Officer said in a tweet: "The UP CM @myogiadityanath has taken cognisance of the Badaun incident and instructed to take the strongest legal action against the accused."
The chief minister has also instructed the ADG, Bareilly zone to submit a detailed report on the incident and directed the Special Task Force (STF) to assist in the probe, it said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is also in charge of the party's affairs in Uttar Pradesh, hit out at the Adityanath government, alleging that there is something wrong in its intention on the issue of women's security.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati too have condemned the incident.
The Budaun incident comes months after a Dalit woman from Hathras was allegedly raped by four men on September 14 last year. She died on September 29 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken note of the Budaun incident and sent a team of its members for a probe.
NCW member Chandramukhi Devi, who met the victim's family members on Thursday, said the incident could have been avoided had the woman not stepped out in the evening.
She, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the police action in the case.
"I tell women again and again that they should never go out at odd hours under anyone's influence.
"I think had she not gone out in the evening or if she was accompanied by any child of the family, perhaps this incident could have been avoided. But this was pre-planned as she was called through a phone call. She went (out) and then returned in such a state," she told reporters at the victim's village.
(With input from PTI)
