Sohna gang-rape: Victim’s neighbour assaulted, paraded for supporting her

According to the police, the suspects threatened villagers against supporting the woman and dragged the neighbour, a 40-year-old man who runs a private school, from inside the school premises. They entered the school, assaulted him, undressed him and paraded him through the village while issuing threats to villagers

A day after the police booked four men in Sohna for allegedly raping a Dalit woman, henchmen of the suspects assaulted a neighbour of the victim for supporting her to file a case against the suspects and paraded him in a semi-naked state across the village on Monday. The police booked 40 men in connection with the incident.

An 18-year-old Dalit woman was held hostage for nine days and raped by four men. (Representative photo)

According to the police, the suspects threatened villagers against supporting the woman and dragged the neighbour, a 40-year-old man who runs a private school, from inside the school premises. They entered the school, assaulted him, undressed him and paraded him through the village while issuing threats to villagers, the police said.

Based on the man’s complaint, a case was registered at Sohna police station under sections 147 (riot), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 323 (assault), 379A (snatching), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 506 (criminal intimidation)of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act on Tuesday.

On Sunday, four persons were booked for allegedly holding an 18-year-old Dalit woman hostage for nine days from June 30 and raping her. They allegedly injected her with sedatives every day, the police said, adding that the woman’s shoulders were swollen due to the jabs and she has been admitted to a hospital for the past two days.

The 40-year-old man said that he fell unconscious during the attack and found himself locked inside the school when he came to his senses, after about an hour. “They left me thinking I was dead,” the man said, adding that the attackers also damaged the school.

He received medical treatment and is currently stable, the police said.

The complainant alleged that the suspects also threatened to sexually assault the women of his family. “Being a neighbour, I helped them (rape victim’s family), for which the accused assaulted me and issued threats,” he told the police, alleging that the group was trying to turn the case into one of caste divisions.

Sandeep Mallik, the assistant commissioner of police (Sohna), said, “We are investigating it. Proper action will be taken against those who are guilty based on the facts.”

Meanwhile, the four suspects in the gang-rape case remained untraceable, the police said. On Tuesday, the police constituted three crime teams to track them through CCTV footage from Ballabhgarh and Faridabad, after their locations were traced by a cybercrime team.