MEERUT: A 16-year-old Dalit girl, abducted and raped in a moving car in Moradabad on Tuesday night, identified the accused, Mohd Rashid, 30, through an ID card he had left on the car’s dashboard, police said on Saturday. The accused was arrested on Friday evening after the survivor narrated the incident to her family, who filed a complaint at the local police station.
Moradabad (rural) SP Kunwar Akash Singh told TOI, “Rashid is a taxi driver and the car used in the crime was borrowed and is now in police custody. The survivor spotted an identification card in the vehicle, which bore Rashid’s name and address. She shared this detail with her family, leading to his arrest.”
In the complaint, the girl’s father, a labourer, said that the incident occurred while he was at work and his wife was harvesting sugarcane in the fields. The teenager had stepped out to dispose of garbage when an SUV stopped near her, and Rashid allegedly dragged her inside and assaulted her. The survivor told the police that the accused also made a video during the assault before abandoning her near a crematorium outside her village two hours later.
An FIR has been lodged under BNS section 64 (rape), 137-2 (kidnapping), and 352 (intentional insult to prove breach of peace), along with relevant provisions of the SC/ST Act and Pocso Act. Singh said, “Once the girl informed her family about the incident, they acted immediately and approached us, We are also investigating whether others were involved. The car has been seized and Rashid’s mobile phone is being examined for more evidence.”
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
