Haldwani gang rape: four arrested, including ex-ABVP candidate Dheeraj Bisht, police say
Police said all four accused were apprehended within six hours of the family's complaint, and CCTV footage and a hotel inspection backed the complaint.
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Police arrested four men on Friday 13 November over the Haldwani gang rape of a minor girl at a hotel in Nainital district, including Dheeraj Bisht, who contested a college student union election as an ABVP candidate. Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police Manjunath TC told ANI that all four named accused were apprehended after the girl’s family lodged a complaint at the Mukhani police station late on Thursday.
What police said about the Haldwani gang rape
The complaint says four young men lured and coerced the girl into going to a hotel, where they sexually assaulted her through threats and intimidation, the SSP told ANI. An FIR was registered under the relevant sections of the law, he said.
PTI reported that the incident took place on Thursday night and that the suspects were apprehended within six hours of the complaint being filed. A police team led by Station House Officer Sushil Joshi made the arrests, PTI said.
The SSP said the preliminary investigation, which covered an inspection of the hotel and a check of CCTV footage, had corroborated the occurrence of the incident, ANI reported. Medical examinations and other legal formalities are under way.
Key numbers
- 4: men arrested, per PTI via Vartha Bharati.
- 6 hours: the time within which the suspects were apprehended after the complaint, per PTI via Vartha Bharati.
- Thursday night: when police say the incident took place, per ETV Bharat.
- 13 November: the day the SSP announced the arrests, per ANI via Devdiscourse.
Dheeraj Bisht and the ITI Gang
ANI named the four accused as Dheeraj Bisht, Nitin Pal, Ansh Khatri and Himanshu Boni. Bisht contested the MBPG College student union elections as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) presidential candidate, the agency reported.
Police said all four suspects were reportedly members of the ITI Gang, a group well known in Haldwani, according to PTI. The reports do not describe any earlier cases against the gang. The four are accused persons, and a court will decide the charges.
What the SSP said
The SSP said the police follow a zero tolerance policy toward crimes against minors and women. He assured that strict action would be taken in accordance with the law, ANI reported. The reports reviewed by NIS carried no response from Bisht, the other three accused or the ABVP.
What happens next in the Haldwani gang rape case
The reports do not say when the four will be produced before a magistrate or which sections the FIR invokes. Police are expected to continue the investigation and file a chargesheet in court. NIS does not publish the girl’s name, age or any detail that could identify her or her family. More state coverage is on our Uttarakhand page.
The arrest of a former ABVP union candidate gives a local crime case a political edge in Uttarakhand, where parties are already sparring ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The next markers are the accused's court production and the chargesheet, which will show how quickly the case moves.