2 men held for attack on Army officers and their female friends in MP's Mhow

Six accused have been identified in connection the incident which took place in the wee hours of Wednesday in Jam Gate area of the hilly region surrounded by forests, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Hitika Vasal told PTI.

While two of them were arrested, search was on for the other four accused, she said. The two Army officers, aged 23 and 24, undergoing Young Officers (YO) course at the Infantry School in Mhow cantonment town, had gone out for a picnic on Tuesday along with two female friends when the incident took place, Badgonda police station in-charge Lokendra Singh Hirore earlier said.

Vasal said the accused held one of the couples captive while beating them up, and told the other couple that the hostages would be released only when they give them Rs 10 lakh. "The complainant has told us that the accused took his woman friend away to a place and he suspected that she was raped. The woman's statement is yet to be recorded," the official said. On receiving information about the incident, police rushed to the spot and launched an investigation, she said.

All the accused are residents of nearby villages and two of them have previous criminal records, the official said. An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act on charges of assault, robbery and rape, she said.