Tribal woman allegedly raped by ten people, including her husband

Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh: A tribal woman was allegedly gang-raped by ten people, including her husband, paraded naked and forced to drink urine in front of her underage son during a land dispute.

After the woman filed a complaint claiming that the attack was carried out at the behest of her husband, all defendants were arrested, police said today.

The incident took place three days ago in Bhiali Kheda village under the jurisdiction of Piplod police station. The victim reported the incident to the police on June 13 after her family took her to Khandwa district hospital, police said.

Based on the complaint, police yesterday arrested all 10 people allegedly involved in the gang rape, including the victim’s husband, relatives and other villagers, Khandwa women’s cell deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sunita Rawat told reporters on Saturday.

The woman said that the accused had abused her and paraded her naked before the rape. When she asked for water, they forced her to drink urine in front of her minor son, said Rawat, citing the police complaint.

Meanwhile, the woman’s husband told the media that she was making baseless allegations against him and the other villagers over a land dispute and also said he doubted her character.

The police have booked the accused under sections 376 (g) (gang rape), 354 (b) (act with intent to disrobe a woman), 294 (obscene acts and songs), 332 (intentionally causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and are further investigating the incident.

The victim is being treated at the district hospital where policewomen and the in-charge of Piplod police station have been deployed to ensure her security, DSP Rawat added.

Recently, a series of sexual assaults on women has sparked nationwide outrage.

The issue came back into focus following the gang rape and murder of two teenage cousins, whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in Badaun district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.