India: Woman visits Facebook friend, gang-raped by 25 in forest

A woman was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by around 25 people in a forest in India’s Haryana.

The incident happened in Palwal district on May 3, however, the matter came to light last week when the victim lodged a complaint with Hasanpur police station against the accused persons.

The prime accused, identified as Sagar from Dehradun, has been arrested.

The victim said she was in contact with Sagar, who she befriended on Facebook. He asked her to meet him in Palwal on May 3 and when she reached the spot, his friends joined him.

They forcibly took her to a secluded place where they gang-raped her and after she became unconscious, they dumped her near the scrap godown at Badarpur.

She said the scrap dealer also raped her. The accused threatened her with dire consequences if she registered a complaint with the police, she added.

“The survivor is originally from Uttarakhand and was living in Delhi for her job. The main accused, Sagar is her friend and he asked her to meet at Hodal. On the pretext of taking her to his house, Sagar took her to a secluded place from where he and his aides forcibly took her to a forest and gang-raped her,” said a police officer.

“Meanwhile, the victim has been sent for a medical examination to a nearby hospital and reports are awaited. A manhunt has been launched to nab other accused. However, further probe into the matter is underway,” he added.