Varanasi: Families of a number of accused in the alleged gang-rape of a woman in Varanasi claimed that there were inconsistencies in the survivor’s account, while the police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine both allegations.

According to the complaint, the 19-year-old woman was raped by 23 people at multiple places between March 29 and April 4. The survivor’s family filed the complaint in this regard on April 6. Of the 23 named accused in the case, 14 have been arrested so far.

Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal said the arrest of the remaining accused has been paused, pending the outcome of the SIT probe.

In a memorandum submitted to police, the families of a number of accused alleged that the woman had, at times, demanded “money to omit certain names from the complaint”.

They also questioned why the woman did not reach out for help during the period of alleged assault and why she continued to post videos and pictures on social media that, according to them, showed her “laughing and roaming around”, police sources said, citing the memorandum.

Police said CCTV footage have purportedly shown the girl riding a bike during the time period of the alleged gang rape as mentioned in the complaint.

Questions have been raised about why the girl did not return home despite her being near her residence on multiple occasions, police sources said, adding the accused’s kin have also claimed the survivor initially named 23 people but identified only nine in her court testimony which suggests possible manipulation or coercion.

Police Commissioner Agarwal confirmed that when the survivor was first located by authorities, she neither mentioned rape nor expressed a desire to return home. “Only after a lengthy conversation with the officers did she agree to go back to her family,” the police officer said.

The Varanasi city police chief said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to examine the woman’s allegations and the counterclaims submitted by the families of the accused.

The survivor’s mother had told PTI that she wished to meet PM Modi during his visit to Varanasi.

“I want to meet our PM and narrate my daughter’s trauma. I want the people who committed such a heinous crime be given the harshest punishment so that in future, everyone thinks a thousand times before subjecting any girl to such barbarity,” she had said.