<p>Thirty-five-year-old Rehana (name changed), a resident of Phugana village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, may not have imagined in her wildest of dreams that the very people with whom she had been living for years in the village will stigmatise her for life.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The night of September 7 turned out to be the darkest night for Rehana as four people of the village, who barged into her house, allegedly gang-raped her before ransacking the house and assaulting other members of her family.<br /><br />The terrified family fled the village the same night with whatever they could carry and took shelter in a relief camp. They have been living there since and have refused to return to the village fearing a backlash.<br /><br />Though Rehana remained silent about her gang-rape initially, she gathered courage and on Monday approached the police for registration of a case against the alleged culprits.<br />A spate of gang-rape cases involving the Muzaffarnagar riot victims has started to surface. <br /><br />In the past few days, five cases of gang-rape have been registered by the police, according to sources.<br /><br />On Monday alone, two women, both from Phugana village, alleged that they had been gang-raped on the night of September 7, when the violence was at its peak, by the people of their own village, who had barged into their houses.<br /><br />Three cases of alleged gang-rape had been registered earlier, on Sunday.<br />Police sources said that all the victims would be medically examined. “We are investigating the cases and will take stern action against the offenders after ascertaining the authenticity of the complaints,” the officials said.<br /><br />They said that more such cases could come to light in the days to come. “There may be more such cases. The victims may come forward in the days to come,” they said.<br />The gang-rape cases have come as a shock and embarrassment to the Akhilesh Yadav regime in the state, which is already at the receiving end for its failure to check the communal violence.<br /><br />Officials also admitted that the gang-rape cases would make the task of the government to restore peace in the area more difficult and also impact the return of the displaced riot victims to their homes.<br /></p>
<p>Thirty-five-year-old Rehana (name changed), a resident of Phugana village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, may not have imagined in her wildest of dreams that the very people with whom she had been living for years in the village will stigmatise her for life.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The night of September 7 turned out to be the darkest night for Rehana as four people of the village, who barged into her house, allegedly gang-raped her before ransacking the house and assaulting other members of her family.<br /><br />The terrified family fled the village the same night with whatever they could carry and took shelter in a relief camp. They have been living there since and have refused to return to the village fearing a backlash.<br /><br />Though Rehana remained silent about her gang-rape initially, she gathered courage and on Monday approached the police for registration of a case against the alleged culprits.<br />A spate of gang-rape cases involving the Muzaffarnagar riot victims has started to surface. <br /><br />In the past few days, five cases of gang-rape have been registered by the police, according to sources.<br /><br />On Monday alone, two women, both from Phugana village, alleged that they had been gang-raped on the night of September 7, when the violence was at its peak, by the people of their own village, who had barged into their houses.<br /><br />Three cases of alleged gang-rape had been registered earlier, on Sunday.<br />Police sources said that all the victims would be medically examined. “We are investigating the cases and will take stern action against the offenders after ascertaining the authenticity of the complaints,” the officials said.<br /><br />They said that more such cases could come to light in the days to come. “There may be more such cases. The victims may come forward in the days to come,” they said.<br />The gang-rape cases have come as a shock and embarrassment to the Akhilesh Yadav regime in the state, which is already at the receiving end for its failure to check the communal violence.<br /><br />Officials also admitted that the gang-rape cases would make the task of the government to restore peace in the area more difficult and also impact the return of the displaced riot victims to their homes.<br /></p>