Three persons have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a college student in a moving car in West Tripura district, said police on Thursday.

According to officials, Gautam Sharma (26), the prime accused and the driver of the vehicle in which the crime was committed, and co-accused Sudip Chetri (31) were arrested soon after the incident came to light. While the third accused, identified as Ptadenjit Paul (26), a resident of the Mahesh Kala area, was arrested on Thursday.

The police also recovered Rs 90 lakh from the house of one of the accused.

“We have arrested the third accused in the case. Suspected items like log books, IPL batting logs and some documents of money laundering cases have been sized. A laptop and ATM cards have also been seized from his possession,” West Tripura SP Kiran Kumar said.

“A separate case is being filed under the gambling act and for money laundering. Prima facie evidence proves the involvement of Prasenjit Paul in the rape case as well. However, we are investigating the matter in a detailed manner,” the SP added.

Meanwhile, the victim’s condition, who is undergoing treatment at GB Hospital, is said to be critical.

Following the incident, various organisations, including students and women’s bodies, in Tripura staged protests on Thursday and demanded for stringent action against the accused.
The 20-year-old student was allegedly abducted on Monday afternoon when she was returning from her college on the outskirts of West Tripura.

“The prime accused was known to the victim for five months and he had picked the victim from her college. After that, they roamed in the town and then late in the night the accused and his friends raped the victim at a school ground near her house and fled the spot,” officials said.

“The victim was found at an abandoned place along the bypass road late on Monday night and was taken to the hospital,” they said.

While The victim’s mother said that her daughter was returning home when Gautam offered her a lift. There were three others in the car, the girl’s mother said, as she alleged that all four persons raped her daughter inside the moving vehicle and abandoned her along the bypass road.