Navi Mumbai, October 23: Four persons have been booked for allegedly sexually harassing and assaulting an 18-year-old girl after forcibly entering her residence in Sanpada, police said on Thursday.

According to officials from the Sanpada Police Station, the incident took place on the night of October 20 when one of the accused, who had earlier claimed to be in love with the victim, arrived at her home along with three associates.

The group allegedly barged into the house, confronted the girl, and touched her inappropriately. When the victim resisted and asked them to leave, one of the men reportedly attacked her with an iron rod, causing injuries.

During the altercation, the victim’s brother tried to intervene but was also physically assaulted by the accused. The group fled the scene soon after the incident, police said.

Following a complaint, a case was registered against four persons, two of whom are yet to be identified. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for sexual harassment, assault, and house trespass, officials confirmed.

As of Thursday, no arrests have been made in the case. The police have launched a manhunt to trace the accused, and further investigation is underway.

Authorities said the statements of the victim and witnesses have been recorded, and medical examination reports are awaited.

“The accused will be arrested soon. We are verifying their backgrounds and gathering evidence,” an officer from Sanpada Police Station said.

New Delhi, Oct 23: Hours after executing one of the biggest crackdowns on the inter-state crime, the Delhi Police made some startling disclosures about the Bihar gangsters’ intention and motive to disrupt the upcoming Assembly elections and also how the four criminals found a ‘safe haven’ in the capital.

Addressing a press conference, Surendra Kumar, Joint CP of Delhi Police Crime Branch, said that the gang of four criminals had been hiding in the national capital for the past several days and were traced and confronted after receiving inputs from Bihar Police about their whereabouts.

He told the press that the Sigma gang’s kingpin, Ranjan Pathak, carried a reward of Rs 25,000 and was wanted in at least eight criminal cases.

The four gangsters of the notorious Sigma gang, responsible for some high-profile killings in Bihar, were also plotting to conduct a major criminal operation during the upcoming Assembly elections, the senior cop told the press.

According to police, they also committed a murder in Bihar after the election code of conduct came into effect on October 6.

He said that further investigations are underway and the police are interrogating known acquaintances of the accused to dig deep into the gangsters’ motive.

The sigma gang members were killed in an encounter with Delhi police, in the wee hours of Thursday, as the latter launched surveillance on key inputs from Bihar Police and laid a trap in the area. A pistol was recovered from the accused, and a stolen car was recovered.

During the police operation in North-West Delhi, the criminals opened fire at the police team and were injured in retaliatory gunfire. They were taken to a hospital in Rohini, where doctors declared them dead.

The operation was carried out by a joint team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch and the Bihar Police.

The four most-wanted were identified as Ranjan Pathak (25), Bimalesh Mahato alias Bimalesh Sahni (25), Manish Pathak (33), and Aman Thakur (21). They were all residents of Sitamarhi district in Bihar and were part of the ‘Sigma Gang’.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 23: Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Thursday welcomed the State Government’s decision to order a CBI investigation into the multi-crore police Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment scam, terming it a major step towards ensuring transparency and accountability in the recruitment process.

Speaking to media persons, Harichandan said, “The Chief Minister has already announced the CBI probe. This reflects the government’s firm intent to maintain complete transparency in the process of recruitment. The ongoing recruitment drive will continue with the highest standards of fairness and integrity.”

He further added, “The government is committed to bringing in a transparent system, and the commission will play a key role in ensuring a clean and credible recruitment mechanism. The reforms being implemented will bring visible change in the system.”

Harichandan expressed confidence that no irregularities will be tolerated and the CBI enquiry will strengthen public trust in the government’s recruitment process.

It is pertinent here to mention that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday ordered a CBI probe into the multi-crore SI recruitment examination scam.

According to the official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), serious allegations of massive irregularities and corruption had surfaced in the Odisha Police SI recruitment examination. The investigation was initially handed over to the Crime Branch-CID of the state police.

Preliminary findings suggest the scam may have links extending beyond Odisha, particularly to Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

This apart, it is suspected that inter-state organised criminal networks could also be involved in this multi-crore scam.

“Keeping in view these developments, the Chief Minister decided to entrust the probe to the CBI to ensure a thorough investigation, complete exposure of the scam, and stringent punishment for all those involved in the scam,” said the CMO.

Additionally, the state government is also mulling to set up a permanent commission for the selection of personnel in the police and other uniformed services to ensure transparency and accountability in future recruitment. It is worth noting that so far 123 accused perople involved in the SI recruitment scam have so far beearrested n by the Odisha Police.