INDIA. Maharashtra. Bhandara/Gondia: Three men allegedly gang-raped a 35-year-old woman under the pretext of helping her in Gondia and Bhandara district. The woman was found naked and bleeding on the roadside. The victim was reportedly tortured and sexually abused in three different places.
According to Rajeshkumar Thorat, Police Inspector at Kardha police station, two rapists have been identified as Mohammad Ejaz (22) and Lukka alias Amit Sarve (30). The third accused is still at large.
She was then rushed to a local hospital by the residents who found her but was later shifted to a hospital in Nagpur, where her condition is said to be still critical. The unfortunate incident has shaken the entire Vidarbha region.
The fateful incident
PI Thorat narrated the entire incident to Transcontinental Times. “The woman, who was separated from her husband, was living with her sister in Salewadi in Goregaon taluka of Gondia district for shelter. On the night of July 30, she had an argument with her sister due to which she decided to leave the house. However, the decision to leave her house in a fit of rage due to flimsy reasons turned out to be life-threatening for the victim,” he said.
An unknown car driver met her on the way and offered to drop her at her mother’s place, which is in Bhandara. The woman agreed to go with him as she was not aware of his ulterior motives. The accused took her to Mundipar forest of Gondia district and brutally tortured and abused her on July 30. The next day, on July 31, she was taken to the Palasgaon forest, where the rapist tortured her again and left her in the forest.
Meanwhile, the victim left the forest, reached Kanhalmoh in Lakhani taluka, and reached Dharma Dhaba. The victim on her own reached Kanhalmoh, where the second accused, Lukka Ashok Surve, befriended her on the pretext of helping her and raped her along with the third accused, Mohammad Ejaz Mohammad Ansari. The case has been handed over to the Goregaon police in the Gondia district, and further investigation is underway.
After the torture, the accused fled and dumped her naked body near the bridge of Kanhal Moh village at around 8 am. Nearby residents saw the woman’s body and immediately informed the police.
According to the victim’s complaint, the Kardha police of Bhandara district have arrested two suspected accused, and a case under Section 376 has been registered against the accused. Kardha police are carrying out further investigation.
The incident sparked outrage, following which Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a senior IPS woman officer would probe the case. The CM has also asked the police to fast-track the case so that strict action can be taken against the accused.
Also Read: Woman Raped And Assaulted In Saki Naka, Dies In Hospital
