Telephone operator gangrape case: 2 witnesses depose in court

MUMBAI: The spots inside the Shakti Mills compound here where an 18-year-old telephone operator and a 23-year-old photo-journalist were allegedly gangraped on July 31 and August 22 lie in radius of 300 metres from each other, a witness told a sessions court today.

Two witnesses including a sketch artist and a police photographer deposed before the court hearing the telephone operator gang rape case.

"First witness (to depose) was the one who had prepared the sketch of the Shakti Mills compound and another was police photographer", said special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.

He said the sketch artist told the court the spots where the photo-journalist and the telephone operator were raped are located within 300 meters of each other.

The artist also told the court that the operator was raped close to the railway track.

The photo-journalist was gangraped by five persons on August 22 in the compound.

Three of the accused are also allegedly involved in the telephone operator gang rape case.

In his deposition, the police photographer told the court he had clicked pictures of the spot shown by the telephone operator.

The photo-journalist, an intern with a English magazine here, was allegedly gangraped by five men, including a juvenile whose trial is separated, when she had gone to the deserted mill compound with her male colleague on an assignment.

The accused had tied up the victim's colleague with belts and took turns to rape her.

The accused Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari and Siraj Rehman have been charged with rape, conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex and charges under Information Technology Act.

The Mumbai crime branch had on September 19 filed a 600-page charge sheet against the four accused.

Mohammed Ashfaq Sheikh, Kasim Bangali, Salim Ansari and Vijay Jadhav were arrested in the July 31 gang rape.

Police on October 8 filed a 362-page charge sheet against the four accused in the telephone operator gang rape case.