Woman on a picnic gang-raped in M.P.’s Rewa, husband assaulted

The gang recorded a video of the incident and threatened to make it viral if the couple complained; police have nabbed five suspects and are searching for a sixth; Congress attacks BJP government’s record on crimes against women

A newly-married woman was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district while picnicking near a temple with her husband, police said on Friday. The Opposition Congress targeted the BJP government saying that the State’s Home Department had collapsed.

According to the police, the incident took place at around 2 p.m. on October 21 when the couple had gone for a picnic in the Gurh police station area, about two kilometres away from a famous temple. Several young men, aged between 19 and 22 years, allegedly raped the woman and beat up her husband.

Rewa Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Singh told The Hindu that the police have nabbed five suspects while a team is currently searching for the remaining man. The police are currently interrogating the suspects and will soon arrest them formally. 

Video recorded

He said that the accused had recorded a video of the incident and threatened the couple to make it viral on the internet if they approached the police.

“When the incident came to our notice, we approached the couple and counselled them to report the crime,” he said, adding that a case was registered on October 22 and a probe was launched. The case was registered under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Sections 296, 127(2), 115, 351(3), 70(1), 79, and 3(5).

The SP said that the men had gone to bathe and party at a pond near the temple and that they were also drunk. “There are some small waterfalls near the temple and these men were there to bathe and party when they saw the couple,” he said, adding that liquor bottles and food items were recovered from the spot. 

Mr. Singh also said that the couple’s statements did not provide many identification details about the men, but that the police had acted swiftly to nab them.

Deputy SP Himali Soni said that the police had rounded up more than 60 people for questioning to get a lead on the accused. “We also followed up on any details mentioned by the couple. The survivor had mentioned a tattoo on the body of one of the accused and one of their bikes, so we questioned anyone that matched the description,” she said. 

‘Jungle raj’

The Congress slammed the State Home Department, headed by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, for its record on such cases.

“The matter did not come to the public domain for two days and when it did, it revealed such gruesomeness,” said State Congress president Jitu Patwari. “If this is not jungle raj then what is? The Home Department has collapsed. They should turn the department into jungle raj department.”

The Congress been targeting the government over recent cases of crimes against women and demanding that the Chief Minister give up the Home Department. 

Earlier this week, a 20-year-old man was arrested for raping a woman with mental illness in Indore. The incident had taken place on October 22 and the woman was found roaming the streets with her clothes torn.

Published - October 25, 2024 04:44 pm IST