Overview

• Victim was gang-raped up to eight times between January and March in hotels and public areas across Haridwar, Agra, and Vrindavan with her mother’s consent.
• On June 4, Haridwar police arrested former district Mahila Morcha president Anamika Sharma and her partner, Sumit Patwal, and a third suspect, Shubham, was taken into custody later that night in Meerut.
• The trio faces charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions on gang-rape and criminal intimidation.
• Investigators say Sharma orchestrated the assaults at a leased Haridwar hotel and threatened to kill the girl and her father to keep the crimes secret.
• BJP officials confirm Sharma lost her party duties in August 2024 and was expelled from primary membership after her arrest.