PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttarakhand has arrested a criminal who was wanted for raping a minor schoolgirl. The accused, Arif, had a reward of Rs 25,000 on his arrest. He was caught hiding in a scrap warehouse in Mohali, Punjab.
Police said that Arif used to drive an e-rickshaw in Haridwar. In 2024, he allegedly kidnapped a class IX girl and raped her. After the crime, he ran away and had been hiding for almost two years.
The STF senior superintendent of police Navneet Singh Bhullar, said that that in 2024, a case was registered at Ranipur Kotwali in Haridwar district against the accused Arif hailing from Batoli Bana, in Kanpur Dehat district (UP) under Section 376(3) of IPC and section 3/4(2) POCSO Act. The accused used to drive an e-rickshaw in the Ranipur area, and during that time, he abducted a minor school girl and later allegedly raped her. After the incident, the accused had been absconding.
Bhullar said that a team stayed in Mohali for a week. They checked scrap warehouses and verified identities of the workers. Finally, on Sunday, the team arrested Arif from Balongi, Mohali.
The STF team included inspector Yadvinder Singh Bajwa, ASI Manoj Bainiwal, head constable Arjun, constables Ravi Pant, Deepak Chandola and Virendra Singh.
