New Delhi: Three people, at least two of whom are members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘IT cell’ in Varanasi, have been arrested as the alleged perpetrators of the gangrape of a 20-year-old B.Tech student from IIT-BHU.The two, Kunal Pandey and Saksham Patel, are among the three men arrested on Saturday and have confessed to the crime, the Times of India reported.Pandey of Sunderpur’s Brij Enclave Colony and Patel, who hails from Bajardiha, have been reported as holding positions in the BJP’s IT cell, with the former serving as the convenor of the city unit and Patel as its co-convenor, according to BJP’s Kashi media in-charge Navratan Rathi. The third accused, Anand, hails from Jivadhipur Bajardiha.While TOI reported that two of the three are from the IT Cell, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair noted that all three are, in fact, connected to BJP’s IT Cell.One of the accused, Saksham Patel, with Union women minister Smriti Irani.Kashi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) R.S. Gautam said on Sunday that the trio could face charges under the National Security Act and the UP Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. The motorbike and mobile phone used in the crime, along with other electronic evidence, have been seized, and the criminal history of the arrested individuals is currently under investigation, the TOI report said.The survivor had filed a complaint on November 2, prompting Lanka Police to register an FIR under sections 354B, 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 66E of the Information Technology (IT) Act. Subsequently, additional charges of gangrape (Section 376 D) and outraging a woman’s modesty (Section 509) were added after the student’s statement was recorded before a magistrate on November 8.According to the survivor’s account, she was on a walk outside her hostel with a friend from the same institute on November 1. They were confronted by the accused, who were on a motorbike, near the Karmanbir Baba temple on campus. The survivor was forcibly separated from her friend, dragged behind some bushes, and assaulted.The incident sparked massive protests on campus with thousands of students demonstrating for better security measures and swift police action in the case. The delay in arresting the accused prompted further demonstrations near the office of the institute’s director.A scuffle had also broken out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP), All India Students Association (AISA) and the Bhagat Singh Chatra Morcha (BCM) in the initial days of the protests. Later, a woman associated with ABVP filed a complaint which the police converted into an FIR against 18 people including AISA and BCM members.UP Congress President Ajay Rai had accused the BJP of being involved in the case in November. At the time, an FIR was filed against him and effigies of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were burnt by the ABVP, Zubair noted. He also added that Pandey and Patel were active on social media till yesterday however, their accounts were deleted after they were arrested.The revelation that the alleged culprits were associated with the BJP’s IT cell has also sparked a political controversy in Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party’s state spokesperson, Manoj Rai Dhupchandi, on Sunday, accused the “women-worshipping” saffron party of harbouring rapists.Meanwhile, pictures of the accused with BJP’s top brass and other leaders have surfaced on social media.
