Gang rape case: Ex-Andaman chief secy sent to jail; arrested bizman brought to Port Blair

Former Andaman and Nicobar chief secretary Jitendra Narain, arrested in a gang rape case filed by a 21-year-old woman against him and others, was on Monday remanded to judicial custody till November 28.

A businessman, who was arrested in Haryana in connection with the same case, was also brought here on transit remand during the day, police said. The Port Blair-based businessman was carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head.

Narain, who was in police custody since his arrest on November 10, was produced before the district and sessions court here, which remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.

A special investigation team (SIT) had questioned Narain thrice in connection with the case.

The SIT was constituted to probe allegations that the 21-year-old woman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was lured to the chief secretary's home by promising a government job and then raped by top officials including Narain there.

Sandeep Singh alias Rinku, an absconding accused in the case, was apprehended from Haryana on Sunday night, an officer said.

"The police got a tip-off about Sandeep through his bank transactions which he made from Haryana. The Andaman and Nicobar Police alerted its Haryana and Delhi counterparts and managed to arrest him. He was brought here on transit remand on Monday. Before his interrogation, he was taken to GB Pant Hospital for a medical check-up,'' the officer said.

The police, however, did not give details of the location in Haryana from where the accused was held.

The Andaman and Nicobar Police had on November 2 announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh each for Singh and suspended Labour Commissioner R L Rishi in connection with the case.

So far, Narain and Singh have been arrested in the case, while Rishi is still at large, the officer said.

Rishi was also accused of raping the woman, while the businessman (Rinku) was named in an FIR as an ''accomplice'' in the crime.

The FIR was registered on October 1 when Narain was posted as the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation.

The government suspended him on October 17 with immediate effect.

The woman claimed in the FIR that as her father and stepmother did not take care of her financial needs, she needed a job and was introduced by some people to the labour commissioner as he was close to the then chief secretary.

She also claimed that the chief secretary appointed "7,800 candidates" in various departments in the administration of the islands "on the basis of recommendation only" and without any "formal interview".

The woman alleged that she was lured to the chief secretary's home with the promise of a government job, and then raped there on April 14 and May 1.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)