A 26-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by three men after being held hostage near Naimisharanya Dham temple, popularly known as Neemsar, in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district late on Monday night, police have said.
Police have arrested the three men and charged them with gang rape, voluntarily causing hurt and insulting the woman at Mishrikh police station on Tuesday. They have also been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Inspector of Mishrikh police station Ashok Kumar Singh said those arrested have been identified as Ramu, 32, Rameshur Kashyap, 42, and Patru Kashyap, 23.
Singh said the incident took place around 11pm on Monday when the woman came to the temple for a special prayer on the occasion of Amavasya or no moon night with her 19-year-old nephew.
The men held her hostage when she went to relieve herself and beat up her nephew when he tried to rescue her, he said.
Police rushed to the spot after the woman’s nephew called UP 100, the police emergency response number, and arrested the three men from near the crime scene as they were trying to escape.
{{/usCountry}}Police rushed to the spot after the woman’s nephew called UP 100, the police emergency response number, and arrested the three men from near the crime scene as they were trying to escape.
{{/usCountry}}Singh said the woman has been sent for medical examination and the accused have been sent to jail after being produced in court on Tuesday. He added the police have collected forensic evidence and further investigation is on.