Jharkhand: Pregnant woman 'gang-raped' in front of husband, six arrested

A three months pregnant woman was allegedly raped by six men in front of her husband in Jharkhand's Palamu district, police said on Monday.

Police said that all the six accused have been arrested.

The incident took place near Bakoria Bhaluahi Valley in Satbarwa area, Palamu Superintendent of Police (SP) Chandan Kumar Sinha told PTI.

The 22-year-old woman, following a quarrel at her in-laws' residence in Patan area of Palamu district, left for her father's house 35 km away in Manika area in adjoining Latehar district by foot on Saturday morning.

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Her husband and one of his relatives left on a motorcycle to look for the woman and found her walking along National Highway 39 close to Manika around 8 PM.

According to the statement given to the police by the woman's husband, as he was persuading her to return home; six men came on motorcycles, severely thrashed him and his relative, took his wife to a nearby location, where he could see and hear them, and took turns to rape her.

The survivor's husband claimed that he knew two of the six accused by face.

He was severely injured and his relative fell unconscious after the thrashing.

By the time he managed to reach the crime spot, the accused were trying to take his wife to another location on a motorcycle.

However, that motorcycle collided with an incoming four-wheeler and the woman started shouting for help. Hearing her cries, local villagers came to her rescue and nabbed two of the accused and handed them over to the police, while the rest managed to escape.

"Two of the accused were formally arrested on Sunday, while four others were nabbed on Monday," the SP said.

Of the six accused, four are from Satbarwa in Palamu district, while one is from Balumath area in Latehar and another is from Kudu area in Lohardaga, Sinha said.

The Palamu and Latehar residents are daily wage labourers, while the one from Lohardaga reared honeybee, the police officer said.

The woman was admitted to Medininagar Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition and she is still serious, Satbarwa Police Station in-charge Rishikesh Kumar Rai said.

However, whether the incident has affected her pregnancy is not yet known. A forensic team visited the spot and collected samples.