At least five persons were arrested in connection with two incidents of alleged gang rape on the New Year’s Eve and on the first day of the year in West Bengal, police said on Thursday.
While a 30-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by four men at Duttapukur in North 24 Parganas district in the early hours of Wednesday, in another incident, a woman was allegedly gang-raped on the night of December 31 at Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur district.
According to a complaint lodged by the victim in the Duttapukur case, some youth partying on the New Year’s Eve barged into her house around 2 am in an inebriated state and raped her. The victim was alone that night as her husband was away for work. The landlord was also beaten up for protesting the assault on the victim. She was later rescued by the neighbours and sent to a hospital.
According to a senior police officer, three persons have been arrested, including a youth Ratan Das, who was recently acquitted in a 2014 murder case after spending five years in jail.
The 27-year-old woman who was allegedly gang-raped at Kaliaganj in north Bengal told the police that she was kidnapped by three persons on the night of December 31, forced to drink alcohol and gang-raped, while she was on her way back from the hotel where she works.
“I want exemplary punishment for the culprits. She is my only daughter. She works in a hotel and I sell lottery tickets. She was living with me after her husband left the country for work,” said the victim’s mother.
“We have arrested two persons based on the victim’s complaint. The investigation is on,” said Sumit Kumar, superintendent of police (North Dinajpur).
Allegations have surfaced that the Kaliaganj woman was raped for the second time the same night by two other men after she was raped and dumped by the trio. The SP, however, said this had not come to light in investigations done so far.
