Four-year search to nab the prime accused in the infamous Park Street gangrape case ended on Friday after Noida police, along with Kolkata Police, arrested Kader Khan (40) and his accomplice Ali Khan (38) from a hideout in Greater Noida where they were staying in a rented flat for the past two days.
The duo were produced before a city court, which remanded them in police custody till October 14, said police, adding that they were taken away on transit remand by Kolkata police to West Bengal. The arrested duo with three others had allegedly gangraped a 37-year-old woman in a moving car on February 6, 2012 after offering to drop her home from a night club at city's Park Street area. The victim, a mother of two and a woman's right activist died of encephalitis in March 2015.
After the incident Kader had been absconding, hiding at various places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Delhi. Superintendent of police (Rural), Greater Noida Abhishek Singh told The Pioneer that Kolkata police had shared the information about the accused's movement in Greater Noida.
"The accused Ali's nephew Faisal Khan lived in a rented flat in Alpha - 2, Greater Noida. He had given shelter to them. The police teams were formed on Thursday evening and then a raid was conducted at around 2:00 am. They were arrested from there," Singh said. "Kader told police that they had come to Greater Noida for some business purposes. They have been taken away on transit remand by the Kolkata police to West Bengal in the morning," he added.
Police said they are investigating the role of 22-year-old Faisal Khan — a resident of Bihar’s Darbhanga — pursuing medical sciences degree programme from a private college in Greater Noida — for allegedly sheltering the accused.
The city sessions court of Kolkata had convicted three accused people identified as Ruman Khan, Nasser Khan and Sumit Bajaj. The court had sentenced them to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.