Eight college students have been arrested after a minor girl was allegedly blackmailed and raped inside their hostel here, with the district administration saying it may invoke the stringent National Security Act against the accused. Jhansi Senior Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar P said the girl was allegedly raped by one of the accused while others stood outside the hostel even as an examination was underway on the campus and the teachers were busy conducting it. "Since, the crime spot -- the hostel -- was a bit away from the college building, nobody noticed it," the SSP said, adding the girl filed a complaint against them.

All the accused were arrested by Monday night and they have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SSP said. He also said it is a matter of probe as to how the students reached the hostel of government polytechnic institute despite it being closed. He said a case has been registered and it will be taken to a fast-track court so that justice is served expeditiously and the accused are given a harsh punishment. "During the probe, it was found that all the accused persons are students of the government polytechnic college. They also extorted Rs 3,000 from the girl by blackmailing her," the SSP said. Police also said the girl had gone to meet a friend and they were near the college when the accused forcibly took her to the hostel. She said the accused also thrashed her friend when he tried to intervene. District Magistrate A Vamsi said orders have issued to rusticate all of the accused from the college.