INDIA: Mumbai photojournalist gang-rape: third suspect held, hunt intensifies for two others

Two more persons accused in the Thursday’s gang-rape of a Mumbai photojournalist were arrested on Saturday, while the police intensified the hunt for the two other accused on the run. While Vijay Jadhav was picked up from Madanpura area early Saturday morning, Siraj Rehman was arrested in the evening from south Mumbai. During questioning, Jadhav has confessed to the crime and was providing the police information about the other accused, said commissioner of police Satyapal Singh."The probe is heading in the right direction and the other accused will be arrested soon," Singh said. The police have all the evidence against the accused and a comprehensive charge sheet will be filed against them, he said. The Crime Branch will now investigate the case. Meanwhile, Chand Babu Sattar Shaikh alias Mohammed Abdul was produced before a court in Dadar amid a demonstration by a large number of BJP and Shiv Sena activists. Shaikh, who stood near the witness box, showed no remorse and was seen yawning during the proceedings. The court accepted the prosecutor’s plea seeking Shaikh’s custody for tracing the other accused. He and Jadhav were remanded in police custody till August 30. The five men gangraped the photojournalist on Thursday evening, when she and her male colleague had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound in Lower Parel on an assignment. The incident brought back shocking memories of the December gang-rape of a paramedic in Delhi which had sparked a nation-wide outrage. The victim’s condition was improving at Jaslok Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment, Singh said."The patient's condition is much better today. However, we are monitoring her health from all aspects of care," said a statement issued by Dr Tarang Gianchandani, director medical services at Jaslok Hospital. Asked about Shaikh’s kin’s claim that he was a juvenile, the commissioner said, “We will tell you about the profile, age and other related things once the other accused have been arrested.” More than 20 teams, including 10 from the elite Crime Branch, have been pressed into service to track down the culprits.