Woman stripped, raped, beaten in Maharashtra; 14 booked

Ahmednagar (Maharashtra): In a shocking incident, a 30-year-old woman was allegedly stripped by a group of men, raped by one of them and beaten up by some women at a village in the district, police said today.

The incident took place on January 14 when the victim, a resident of Wadali village under Shrigonde tehsil, was going alone to nearby Khasti village for some medical treatment, they said.

She was stopped midway by a person who, on seeing her alone, forced her to accompany him on his two-wheeler, Shrigonde police station inspector Bharat More said.

Soon, they were intercepted by a group of men who objected to the woman travelling with a man on his bike and they started misbehaving with her, the officer said, adding that the men then allegedly stripped her and assaulted her with wooden sticks.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim, she was allegedly raped by one of the men, while others helped him in the offence. She was later taken to Wadali village where she was allegedly beaten up again by six women, who are relatives of the accused men.

The unconscious woman was then dumped in a canal. Some villagers later spotted her in the canal and informed police who reached the spot and took her to a primary health centre in Kashti for medical aid.

Police brought the victim to Ahmednagar on Tuesday for further treatment.

The police officer said the victim had first lodged a complaint against 14 people on January 15 with Shrigonde police station in which she accused the group of men of stripping, assaulting her and some women of beating her.

The woman yesterday incorporated fresh information in the FIR that she was also allegedly raped by one of the men.

A case has been lodged in this regard under IPC section 376 (rape) against one person for alleged rape. The others have been booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causes hurt), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, police said.

All the accused, belonging to Wadali and Kashti villages, are presently at large and efforts are on to nab them, More said, adding that police security has been provided to the woman.