Tribal woman gangraped by eight in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, six held

RAIPUR: A tribal woman was gang-raped in Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh by eight men when she was returning from a village fair on the day of Raksha Bandhan on Aug 19. Police have arrested seven accused including a minor aged 15 years in connection with the case and are searching for one who is at large.
The incident took place in the Pusaur area of Raigarh when the 27-year-old woman, separated from her husband for the past few years, went to Meena Bazaar with some acquaintances.She was returning with one of the male acquaintances when they were intercepted by seven other men, known to the male friend. The accused were stated to be his friends and they had allegedly planned to rape her.
The eight youths dragged her to an isolated location near a pond and took turns raping her. The accused dumped her in an unconscious state and fled. The accused were reportedly high on alcohol and mahua drink.
The survivor after gaining consciousness, walked to the police station alleging that she was raped by eight men and identified few with their names and residents of the same village. Police lodged an FIR in the case on Tuesday.
Bilaspur range inspector general of police Sanjeev Shukla told TOI that seven accused were arrested till Wednesday evening and one was still at large. The accused were aged between 18-22 years and one was minor.
Raigarh SP Divyang Patel said that the accused were arrested under Sections 70(1) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Based on the interrogation, police will gather identity and other leads in connection with the accused at large and catch them at the earliest, the officer said.
Those arrested are jobless men and had an eye on the woman since they found her an easy target because of separation with her husband, police said.
The woman was provided with primary health treatment and her condition was stated to be stable.
Reacting over the rape incident, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said that the incident was very serious and all the accused should be arrested immediately. "The survivor should get protection until the accused are punished and she should be given medical assistance as well as all possible help."
Congress on Wednesday constituted a five-member committee that will visit the survivor's place, meet her and her family and take stock of the situation.