ALWAR: Police have arrested the main accused, Rahul Saini, in the abduction and gang rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl in the Raini area of Rajasthan’s Alwar district, while his cousin and another associate remain absconding.According to police, the accused allegedly abducted the Class 11 student in an SUV on Thursday while she was on her way to a govt school in a village under the Raini police station limits. She was allegedly assaulted by three youths and later dropped near the spot from where she had been abducted around 1am on Friday. Police said villagers caught the main accused when the suspects tried to flee after abandoning the girl on the roadside during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Two other accused managed to escape. An angry mob later set the SUV on fire, and police seized the charred vehicle from the scene. The girl’s brother lodged a complaint on Friday and identified two of the three accused in the FIR. Police said the main accused lived about 2 km from the crime scene and had allegedly been stalking and harassing the student for several days. According to Alwar ASP Priyanka Raghuvanshi, Saini followed her on Wednesday as well but turned back because other village children were accompanying her. On Thursday, police said, other children from the village were walking about 200 metres ahead of the girl when the accused allegedly forced her into the vehicle. Her cries alerted other students, who informed villagers, bringing the incident to light. Villagers have alleged that the accused may be the ringleader of a blackmailing gang, a claim police are examining as part of the investigation. The case has triggered political reactions, with former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleging on X that the incident reflected a failure of law and order under the BJP govt in the state. ASP Raghuvanshi said investigators did not find any nude videos on the accused’s mobile phone but recovered one nude photograph of a minor. She said the mobile data had been taken into record and further investigation was under way to trace the absconding accused and examine possible links to blackmail.
