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Woman allegedly gangraped in Jharkhand, husband tied to tree
All the three accused have been arrested, said the police.
A 24-year-old tribal woman was allegedly gangraped by three men who tied her husband to a tree in a village in Jharkhand’s Dumka district. All the three accused, including the village head, have been arrested and sent to judicial custody, said the police.
The accused have been identified as Durga Dehri, Devendra Dehri and Sonu Dehri. Durga Dehri is mukhiya (village head) of Gopikandar’s Kharauni Bazar Panchayat, police said. The victim and the accused belong to Pahariya tribe.
In her complaint, the woman said that the incident happened on Monday (February 17) when she was headed home with her husband from a weekly market. The three accused intercepted the couple, said the woman in her complaint, dragged them to a forest area and tied her husband to a tree with piece of cloth. Then, they raped her taking turns, the woman further said in the complaint, according to the police.
“The woman in her statement said that the three accused were chasing them when they (couple) were coming back to their home. They stopped the couple and took them to Jhikra forest area. Then, they tied her husband to a tree with a piece of cloth and raped her by taking turns,” said Animesh Nethani, Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Jarmnudi.
The woman visited police station on Tuesday and lodged a complaint. “On the basis of her statement, a special team was constituted to nab the accused. All three accused were arrested by the evening. After the initial interrogation, all three were sent to Dumka jail,” he said.
Nethani added that medical test of the woman was conducted and report was expected to arrive in a day or two. “Broken bangles were collected from the spot. Her clothes and bangles were sent to forensic lab in Ranchi,” he said.
Dumka district recorded 67 rape cases in 2018, 65 in 2017, 64 in 2016, 97 in 2015, 63 in 2014 and 58 in 2013, as per the website of Jharkhand Police. The number of cases saw a decline in 2019. Till November in 2019, rape cases were registered.
However, rape cases are on the rise in Jharkhand. According to National Records Crime Bureau (NCRB), Jharkhand 914 rape cases were registered across the state in 2017, which increased to 1090 in 2018. According to Jharkhand Police website, a total of 1,586 cases related to rape have been registered till November 2019.
