Ranchi/New Delhi: A Brazilian woman was assaulted and gangraped allegedly by seven men in Jharkhand’s Dumka district Friday night. The crime took place at Kurumahat under Hansdiha police station area, around 400 km from state capital Ranchi.
Dumka Superintendent of Police Pitambar Singh Kherwar told ThePrint Saturday that the police have “identified all of the accused” and “three have been arrested” in connection with the case. Kherwar later told the media that an SIT has been constituted under the leadership of the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Jarmundih, to probe the incident.
Help is also being sought from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), he said, adding that all of the accused are residents of nearby villages and raids are being carried out to nab the remaining four.
The woman and her Spanish partner were en route to Nepal via Bhagalpur as part of a biking expedition and set up camp at Kurumahat Friday night at a spot, about 40 km from the district headquarters. This spot in Dumka district falls under Poreyahat assembly segment, which in turn falls under the limits of Godda Lok Sabha constituency.
“The couple was on vacation and were going to Nepal. Dumka was just a transit point and they set up camp, half a km from the main road to stay for the night. At night the seven miscreants saw the couple and gangraped the woman,” said a police source.
The source added that the couple had “put up a tent near Hansdiha market in Dumka” and that the crime took place 50 metres from their tent.
Earlier Saturday, Dumka SP Kherwar had told the media, “At around 10:30 pm, the woman stopped a police patrol vehicle for help stating that a gang-rape incident had taken place. Our team visited the couple in the hospital, and they narrated the incident to us…”
Kherwar also said that upon receiving information about the crime late Friday night, he visited the spot along with DSP (Sadar) and SDPO (Jarmundih).
Police officials also visited the crime scene multiple times Saturday.
The woman, meanwhile, narrated her ordeal in a video post on social media.
“Something has happened to us that we wouldn’t wish on anyone. Seven men have raped me, they have beaten us and robbed us, although not many things because what they wanted was to rape me. We are in the hospital with the police. It happened tonight here in India,” she said.
Her partner added in a separate video post, “My mouth is destroyed but she is worse than me. They have hit me with the helmet several times, with a stone on the head several times. Thank goodness she was wearing a jacket, that stopped the blows a little.”
On Saturday, the woman underwent medical examination and was under treatment at the Phulo Jhano Medical College in Dumka.
BJP MP from Dumka Sunil Soren visited the hospital and demanded strict and timely action against the culprits. Former chief minister Babulal Marandi too reacted to the incident, calling it “shameful”.
The incident was also raised during the Budget Session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. Speaking to the media outside the House, BJP MLA Rajmahal Anant Ojha said the incident brought shame to the state, while minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur said the government is taking the incident very seriously and none of the culprits will be spared.
On the floor of the House, BJP MLAs Biranchi Narayan and Amit Mandal raised the issue and demanded a response from the government. This was followed by a ruckus resulting in the adjournment of the House.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)