Polio-affected Ludhiana woman kidnapped, gangraped by brother-in-law, his cousin

Besides the two main accused, three others helped them kidnap the woman from Gill Road on Thursday.

A 26-year-old woman, affected by polio, was allegedly kidnapped and raped by her brother-in-law and his cousin on Friday.

The victim has been living separately from her husband for the past 11 months. The accused kidnapped her on the pretext of arranging a meeting with him for a patch-up.

Police have launched a manhunt for her husband’s brother, a resident of Jeera Gate, Ferozepur; and his cousin, a resident of Peeran Shekhan, Ferozepur.

Besides the duo, police are also looking for another brother of her husband, another cousin and an unidentified accomplice, who kidnapped the woman along with the main accused.

The woman told the police that she got married to a Ferozepur man in 2017, but had moved to her parents’ house in Ludhiana around 11 months back due to strained marital relations. In Ludhiana, she got enrolled in an electrician’s course.

She claimed that on Thursday evening, her husband’s two brothers, their two cousins and another man came to Ludhiana. The called her over the phone, claiming that they had come to pick her up to arrange a meeting with her husband.

The woman alleged that the five men picked her up in a Maruti Suzuki Zen and took her to Sultanpur Lodhi.

They drove to an isolated location, where one of her brothers-in-law and his cousin gangraped her, while the rest left.

On Friday morning, the duo fled after dropping her at the Ludhiana bus stand.

Inspector Amandeep Singh Brar, station house officer (SHO) at Division Number 6 police station, said on the woman’s complaint, they had lodged an FIR under Sections 376-D (gangrape) and 365 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The woman was taken to the civil hospital for medical examination. Further investigation is on to arrest the culprits,” he added.

If proven guilty, Section 376D entails rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than 20 years, which may extend to life, and with fine. Kidnapping is punished with a jail term up to seven years with fine.