A 21-year-old Indian student is currently recovering in the hospital
after being gang-raped by a group of men including some charged with
sexually assaulting her 3 years earlier, an officer said Monday.
The
five men abducted the student of the lowest Dalit
social caste from outside her college before drugging and raping her in a
car. She was found unconscious in bushes on
the side of a highway last Wednesday night in Haryana which borders New
Delhi.
Haryana deputy superintendent of police Pushpa
Khatri said the student, who is still in hospital, has identified all
five men - two of whom are currently on bail awaiting trial for raping
her in 2013.
"She has identified the five accused and two
of them were involved in the gang-rape of the student in Bhiwandi
district in 2013," Khatri told AFP. "We have formed several teams to arrest the accused."
The woman's family has accused the five of
threatening them in the lead-up to Wednesday's attack, demanding that
they withdraw the rape case lodged after the 2013 assault.
"The accused were constantly threatening us to
compromise outside the court. They even offered us a hefty amount for
settlement. But we didn't agree," the victim's brother was quoted by the
Hindustan Times as saying.
The family also alleged they were forced to
move to Rohtak district in the state from a neighbouring district after
the 2013 attack because of harassment by the accused.
Members of the Dalit caste held small protests in Rohtak on Sunday to demand justice for the victim.
The fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in
Delhi in 2012 shone a global spotlight on frightening levels of violence
against women in India.
Post a Comment