Woman abducted and gang-raped by 3 men in car in city’s posh Vasant Vihar

NEW DELHI: Three men allegedly abducted and gang-raped a 23-year-old woman in south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area before dumping her on a road early on Thursday.

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The woman was allegedly picked up by the men while walking back home with a friend after watching a movie at the popular PVR Priya Multiplex around 3.15am on Thursday, police said.

The incident occurred just two kilometers away from the spot where another 23-year-old woman, a medical student, was brutally gang-raped, tortured and murdered in 2012.

The woman was also travelling back home with a friend after watching a movie at south Delhi’s PVR Anupam multiplex four years ago, in a case that shook India.

Hours after the crime, police arrested three people, who were sent to judicial custody.

“In her statement to the police, her friend said they were walking towards Munirka when three men pulled her friend inside their car and drove off,” a senior police officer said.

The woman’s friend then called the police and gave them the registration number of the car, whose owner was immediately traced to Geeta Colony.

“When we reached Poorvi Marg, we found the woman standing there. She alleged the three men took turns to rape her inside the car and then dumped her,” the officer said.

Detailed statements of the woman and her friend have been recorded but the woman couldn’t provide the exact sequence of events to the police and is reportedly changing her version, sources said.

The woman was taken for a medical examination that confirmed rape, following which a case of abduction and rape was registered against the men, the officer added. The police team tracked the car and arrested the owner from his residence in Geeta Colony. His friends were also arrested.

Four years ago, another 23-year-old, a paramedical student, had been gang-raped on a bus late at night when she was returning home from a movie with a friend.

The 2012 gang rape and the horrific images of injuries that resulted in the medical student’s death catalysed waves of protest. The case inspired changes in India’s rape laws and amendments in the legislation that governs juvenile offenders after an underage convict in the case was sentenced for three years — as opposed to the life sentences given to the others.

The ensuing outrage ensured offenders between 16 and 18 can be tried as adults in case of heinous crimes such as rape and murder.