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Five men arrested after viral video shows them forcibly stripping woman in UP’s Hamirpur

Two of the five arrested in the case are minors. Police say they were trying to extort money out of the woman and her partner.

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Lucknow: A young woman was forcibly stripped, beaten, and videographed by six men after they allegedly found her and her partner in Hamipur’s city forest area, Uttar Pradesh police said Friday.

Police said that the six suspects in the case — of whom five have been arrested — also tried to extort money from the two.  The man was also beaten, police said at a press conference Friday.  

Banda Deputy Inspector General of Police Vipin Mishra, who visited the spot where the incident had allegedly occurred after videos of the incident went viral, said the men in the videos were misbehaving with the as-yet-unidentified victim and demanding money from the couple. 

“They were demanding money from them. I have inspected the spot. It is a city forest area, which is restricted. Police continuously take rounds here. If someone has come here stealthily, police have taken immediate action and the action is a result of the swiftness of the local police,” he said at the press conference.

Police are still unclear when the incident occurred but believe it is at least one or two days old. They have also yet to identify the victims in the case but have ruled out rape.  

Two of the five people arrested in the case are minors, police said. They have yet to track down the sixth suspect in the case. 

The DIG also said it was important to consider what the couple was doing in a restricted area.

“When they themselves are endangering their lives…. A police picket is stationed here on a permanent basis and it takes rounds every 2-3 hours,” Mishra said. “We’ll completely curb such crimes and those trying to exploit such people.”

All six suspects have been booked under section 354 B (any man who assaults or uses criminal force to any woman or abets such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked) of the Indian Penal Code.


Also Read: ‘Don’t want to live like a victim’ — How a women’s adalat in UP is empowering survivors of abuse


The video

A video of the incident shows some suspects trying to tug at the unidentified victim’s clothing as the victim lies on the forest ground crying and covering her face. A man in the background can be heard pleading with them to “leave her”.  

Police said that woman in the video hasn’t come forward to file a complaint yet. When asked if the woman was raped, he said the suspects “videographed the incident and tried to exploit her. Hence, the video itself was evidence”.

“The victim woman has not given any complaint and she has not come forward and identified herself. Had it been a case of mishappening (rape), it would have come into cognisance because the video is 1-2 days old, according to our information so far,” he said.

Hamirpur Superintendent of Police Shubham Patel told the press that some people from nearby villages found the two youngsters — both adults — in the city forest area.

“They beat them, indulged in indecent behaviour with the woman (sic), and demanded money. We took cognisance of the incident. Given that it was a crime against women, an FIR was lodged at the Kotwali police station,” he said. 

Five people were arrested on the basis of the video. He identified three of the five as Kanhaiya, Arvind Nishad, and Pritam Kashyap. 

“Two others are juveniles,” he said.  

Asked what the police were doing to track down the woman, Patel said that they were trying to identify her so they could record her statement, adding that social media users were warned against sharing the videos.

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)


Also Read: ‘If a girl is alone, she’s not so believable’: Bihar’s mahila thanas are no place for women


 

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