The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe into the Bulandshahr gangrapes in Uttar Pradesh. CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh said on Friday that they registered a case of gangrape, kidnapping and dacoity, among other crimes, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, PTI reported.

On August 12, the Allahabad High Court ordered a CBI inquiry into the gangrapes, in which a group of highway robbers had raped and assaulted a 35-year-old woman from Noida and her teenage daughter on July 29. The Uttar Pradesh government had filed a status report in the case, after which the court took suo motu cognisance of the incident to pass the order.

On the night the crimes took place, the men had allegedly surrounded the their car and forced all of them into a field nearby. The police arrested three men after the gangrape survivors identified the main accused and two others. The men are believed to be part of a tribal group of dacoits called the Bawaria gang.