The criminals (faces covered) at the SSP’s news meet on Friday. Picture by by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Six persons have been arrested in connection with the gang rape of a girl in Bihta on Thursday.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jitender Rana said the six arrested men were in the age group of 20 to 30 years and five of them were autorickshaw drivers.

“The case will be referred for speedy trial. Initially, the police had suspected the involvement of the victim’s boyfriend, who was with the girl when she was attacked. But during interrogation, the police found he had no hand in the crime and hence he has been given a clean chit. However, investigations are still on,” the SSP said on Friday.

Rana said the girl and her friend were meeting at a secluded place near Dilawarpur village under the jurisdiction of Bihta police station. While they were taking a stroll there, a person who was tending to his cattle spotted them.

He immediately contacted some friends of his who reached the spot. They overpowered the girl’s boyfriend and then took turns raping her. The police began making arrests on Thursday evening and had arrested all of them by Friday afternoon.

Continuous raids preceded the arrests. Rana said: “The girl’s condition is stable.”

Another police officer said: “The girl was visiting a relative’s place in the village. Her boyfriend, too, came down to meet her. The two decided to meet up. They were taking a stroll along the secluded Dumri Road in Bihta when they were spotted and attacked. They were not very familiar with the area. A woman who was passing by at the time of the crime, raised an alarm after which some residents rushed in and were able to catch hold of one of the accused. The police were informed and two others were arrested by late evening on Thursday. SP (rural) Har Kishore Rai was in charge of the operations.”

Robbers nabbed

In another operation, the police claim to have arrested a gang of four who had given shape to many robbery incidents.

“The four had given shape to a robbery on November 14 and murdered a man, Awadhesh Kumar, when he resisted their robbery. The incident took place in Tipura area under the jurisdiction of Gaurichak police station. Three country-made pistols, five live cartridges, a knife and four mobile phones were recovered from them,” the SSP said.