JOIN USA 27-year-old woman was reportedly gang-raped by a group of youths, while her husband was made to watch, early on Friday morning.
The incident, which is likely to leave the state government embarrassed, took place at Mourigram in Howrah. While the police have identified one of the youths and detained him, the other four accused are absconding.
According to the police, the woman and her 30-year-old husband, who hail from the Midnapore district, were returning from Mourigram on Thursday night when they missed the 11:40 train, the last one to Howrah. They decided to spend the night on the platform at Mourigram station. At around 1:30 am, asleep on a bench, they were approached by a group of youths.
“The men told the couple that railway rules did not allow them to sleep on the platform, and asked them to come with them to the regional centre, which they said was close by. Unaware of the railway rules, like most people, the couple agreed to accompany the men, who took them to an empty field away from the station,” said a senior police officer.
There, they tied the husband to a tree at gunpoint. Then, they held the woman down, gagged her with a piece and repeatedly raped her. They subsequently released the woman, severely injured and traumatised.
“She managed to free her husband, who then took her to the nearest police station and lodged a complaint early in the morning. She was then taken to a state-run hospital, where medical tests were conducted on her,” said the police officer.
The police acknowledged that going by preliminary report from the hospital’s doctors, the woman was indeed gang-raped.
“She is in a critical physical and mental condition. We will record her statement in camera before a magistrate on Saturday. We have managed to apprehend one of the accused,” said the officer.