Madhya Pradesh: Seven, including three minors, rape 18-year-old
What's the story
In a gut-wrenching incident, seven men, including three minors, raped an 18-year-old in Madhya Pradesh on the intervening night of April 29 and 30, making it the fourth rape case to be reported from the central state since the coronavirus-linked lockdown started. The victim was returning with her brother to their village when the accused intercepted them. Five, including the minors, have been arrested.
What happened
The victim's brother was thrown into a well
The siblings were returning from Padhar town, where they had gone to fill petrol when the accused waylaid them around 8 pm. The brother, 21, was thrashed, dragged, and thrown into a well, after which the accused took turns to rape the victim. The ordeal lasted until 2 am, reportedly. Her brother kept shouting but no one helped them on the deserted road.
Details
Accused dragged woman to nearby forest, raped her for hours
According to TOI, after throwing the brother into the well, the accused dragged the survivor to a nearby forest and violated her for hours. Around 1 am, the brother somehow managed to climb up and went towards the road looking for his sister. He told some villagers about what happened, who were shocked. They then started looking for the victim.
Catching accused
Villagers caught one of the accused, but he slipped away
Just when the villagers began looking for her, one of the accused was seen bringing the victim back on his bike to drop her off to some location. He was caught and blurted out some other names before running away. Kotwali police station in-charge Rajendra Dhurvey said they were informed about the incident around 2 am. The accused are from Kappa.
Arrests
Two are absconding, hunt is on
Shubham Bele, 22, and Sandeep Khatiya, 23, have been arrested while Lokesh Soni, 22, and Pawan Bele, 24, are at large. The accused have been charged with IPC Sections 376 (rape), 365 (kidnapping), and 307 (attempt to murder). Police are looking for other accused. The victim and her brother suffered grave injuries but are out of danger, police said.
Similar incidents
Crimes against women haven't stopped even in lockdown
Last month, a six-year-old was raped in MP and her eyes were gouged out. The child was attacked while she was playing near her home in Damoh. Before that, a 17-year-old was raped in BHEL Township, Govindpura, Bhopal. In another incident, a visually-challenged bank official was raped inside her home in Bhopal, at a time when her family was stuck in Rajasthan.