Bhopal: Dalit Woman Gang-Raped, Fiance Assaulted; 3 Accused Held

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A 20-year-old Dalit woman, who had gone out with her fiance in Sidhi district, was allegedly raped by four men who also assaulted her male partner, said a police official on Wednesday.

Four persons were involved in the gang-rape and three of them have been arrested, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arvind Srivastava said. Five police teams have been deployed to nab the absconding accused, he informed.

He said the victim, a resident of an area under Churhat police station limits, had gone out with her fiance on Tuesday. After parking their motorcycle on the roadside near Kathoutha, they went to a nearby hill. Four men roaming in the area spotted the couple. They beat up the woman's fiance and chased him away, said the police officer.

"After this, the accused took turns to rape the woman," Srivastava stated. The official said after escaping from the clutches of the accused, the woman contacted her fiance and both of them reached Semaria police station where they narrated the horrific incident to cops.

The police immediately registered a case on the duo's complaint and sent them to a community health centre in Semaria for treatment, said the ASP. The Opposition Congress targeted BJP government over the gang-rape incident and added the crime exposed the sorry state of law and order situation in Madhya Pradesh.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari said the shameful incident tarnished the entire humanity and also highlighted the 'horrific state' of law and order. Patwari alleged that due to inaction on part of the BJP government, crimes have increased in the state and victims are not getting justice.