Lucknow: One of the three accused in the gang rape of a 20-year-old NEET aspirant in Chitrakoot was injured in a police encounter on Saturday, while a constable sustained a gunshot wound during the exchange of fire.Police have also announced a reward of ₹50,000 each for information leading to the arrest of the two remaining accused, identified as Vivek Kumar and Pravin Patel.The encounter took place around 5 pm in the Madtha forest under the Bharatkoop police station limits. The injured accused, identified as Jitendra Patel, 24, alias Bhola, a resident of Kalla village in Shivrampur, suffered a bullet injury during the operation.Constable Raghvendra Rajput was also injured after being hit by a bullet in his hand.
CJP Jantar Mantar Protest Updates
Both were taken to the community health centre in Shivrampur for treatment.Chitrakoot Dham range DIG, Rajesh S said the search operation is continuing to trace the other two accused. Police have announced a reward of ₹50,000 each on the absconding accused.The gang rape took place on Jul 22 in the Devangana valley forest, about 12 km from the Chitrakoot district headquarters. According to the FIR, the survivor, a 20-year-old NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district, had come to Chitrakoot to meet her 17-year-old boyfriend. They had gone to a hilltop in Devangana valley and were making social media reels when the incident occurred.Police said three men arrived on a motorcycle, introduced themselves as forest personnel and began questioning the couple. The accused allegedly assaulted the teenager with a belt, tied his hands and legs with a towel and held him captive before taking the woman to nearby bushes, where she was raped.After the accused fled, the teenager freed himself and reached the survivor. Unable to connect to the police helpline due to poor network connectivity, he moved downhill and later contacted police, who reached the spot and shifted both to hospital.Following the registration of an FIR, police launched a manhunt and identified the suspects through CCTV footage. Efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused and complete the investigation.
