Ranchi: Two cousins, aged 16 and 17 years, were allegedly gang-raped by a group of four acquaintances near railway tracks in Tupudana, 18km from the capital, late on Thursday.

All four accused, including two minor boys, were arrested from their homes in the small hours of Friday. The survivors have been sent to Ranchi Sadar Hospital for medical examination.

Sources in police said the girls were residents of Saudag village while their tormentors - identified as Sujit Linda (19) and John Bando (19), and two boys aged 16 and 17 - live in Saudag and Jamgai, which is 4km away.

"The youths whom the teens knew had offered them a spin on their bikes from Hulhundu to Tupudana around 7pm. But, the girls were taken to a desolate place instead and raped," a police source quoted residents.

An officer at Tupudana thana said the crime came to the fore after one of the girls mustered courage and confided in their aunt in Hulhundu around 11pm. The woman dialled helpline 100.

"In fact, we rescued one of the minor girls from the residence of one of the minor accused at Jamgai around 3am. In less than an hour, the other boys were in custody," the officer said.

Hatia DSP Vikas Pandey said the arrested boys were being forwarded to judicial custody.

"An FIR has been registered and the girls sent for medical examination. The adult accused were produced in court and the minors before the Juvenile Justice Board," Pandey added.

Drowning

A 12-year-old girl drowned in a pond in Namkum, on the outskirts of the capital, on Friday. Police said Shivani Kumar knew how to swim, but might have had a fit of epilepsy while taking a bath. Family sources said she had been suffering from the neurological disorder for two years.

Suicide

A 20-year-old man, who worked as a guard at Dadhichi Foods Private Limited in Tatisilwai, around 12km from the state capital, hanged himself from a ceiling fan at his residence near the factory on Thursday night.

Family members of Amol Kumar Das have accused the factory management of abetment. The said the youth was being harassed by his seniors after a few cartons of biscuits went missing from the premises a fortnight ago. Police have registered a case based on the family's complaint.