Bhopal: Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa have rounded up five suspects in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old woman, hours after the opposition Congress accused the police of trying to “suppress” the matter owing to a Regional Industry Conclave held on 23 October.
In her complaint, the woman said she along with her partner went to a secluded picnic spot, about 30 km from the district headquarters, on 21 October. Around 2 pm, they were allegedly attacked by a group of five men who threatened to kill the couple, before pulling the partner away, taking turns to rape the woman and fleeing the spot.
The accused also filmed the act and threatened to leak the video if the couple was to disclose the incident, said police officials.
Superintendent of Police (Rewa) Vivek Singh told ThePrint, “After visiting Bhairav Baba temple in Gurh area, the couple went to a nullah about 2 km away. The five [accused] were already partying there. They spotted the couple and attacked, brutally assaulting the partner, raping the woman.”
Police sources said both the woman and her partner are first-year college students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science (BSc) course. They decided go to the temple that day after some of their lectures were cancelled, sources added. The seasonal nullah where the alleged incident took place is some 500 metres from the main road and known only to local residents who use it as a picnic spot, said sources.
In her statement to police, the woman alleged that the couple was first attacked by one man and when they tried to run away, four others prevented them. The accused, said the woman, threatened to kill them them with broken glass bottles if they did not comply with the demands. The police have recovered beer bottles from the scene of crime.
She added that the couple approached the police on 22 October, a day after the alleged incident since they were scared that the accused may post a video of the alleged act on social media.
On Friday, police rounded up five suspects based on descriptions given by the woman, including tattoos on the hand and chest of one of the accused.
थाना गुढ़ क्षेत्र अंतर्गत हुए महिला के साथ रेप की घटना में आरोपियों तक पुलिस पहुंच गई है, जल्द ही किया जाएगा पूरी घटना का खुलासा..@CMMadhyaPradesh @MPPoliceDeptt @mohdept @JansamparkMP @ProjsRewa @IG_Rewa pic.twitter.com/Uby7UaAuM2
— sp_rewa (@SP_Rewa) October 25, 2024
The issue was also picked up by the Opposition which accused the police of ‘trying to suppress’ the matter. State vice president of the Congress party’s women’s wing, Kavita Pandey, who also visited the complainant’s home, told ThePrint over the phone, “Despite the victim reporting the matter, police tried to suppress it as there was an industrial conclave scheduled the next day on 23 October. It was after the regional conclave concluded that police bothered to focus on the case and began looking for the accused.”
SP Singh, however, denied the charge, maintaining that the police “swung into action soon after the victim reached out to us”. He added that forensic teams were called in to ensure all medico-legal evidence is collected.
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