A mobile phone of an accused, arrested for an incident of loot, revealed evidence of a gang rape of a teenager, who didn’t register the crime with the police fearing social stigma. Madhya Pradesh police arrested all the four accused and has now booked them for gang rape on Thursday evening.
The incident took place in Sagar district, 186 km east of Bhopal, on the afternoon of January 1, when the teenager accompanied by the brother of her brother-in-law went to a picnic spot in Amjhira hillocks area while returning from a temple. There, they were waylaid and held hostage by the accused, who beat up the male companion and gang raped the girl.
A day after on January 2, the 18-year-old rape survivor told the police in her complaint that the accused looted her silver ornaments, cash and the mobile phones belonging to her and her companion. She didn’t mention sexual assault, said a police officer.
Police lodged the FIR under section 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and launched a manhunt.
“When police arrested Gopal Patel and Mohit Patel, residents of Barkhera Khuman village and checked their mobile phones, they found a video clip of the gang rape. Police later arrested two more accused– Prakash Patel and Sandeep Patel, residents of the same village,” said Samarjeet Singh Parihar, in charge, Cantonment police station.
“When the survivor was called to the police station she told us that she didn’t mention the gang rape in her complaint out of the fear of social stigma,” added Parihar.
Section 376D (gang rape) was added to the FIR. The accused have confessed to having committed the crime, he said.
