Police have filed a case with charges of rape and assault (Representational)
New Delhi:
Five people – including four men – have been arrested for the alleged sexual assault of a woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, police said Sunday, adding that three other suspects are currently on the run.
In disturbing videos shared online, the rape survivor is seen crying and hyperventilating as she is huddled against the railing of a balcony on the ground floor of a house.
“I have four daughters… they are all very young… please save me…” she cries at the person filming the video. A few other men can be seen in the background but it is unclear if any of them are among the arrested or accused. “See what they did to me,” she says in tears, pointing to torn and stained clothes.
The woman then repeatedly hits her head and grabs her hair to show how she was assaulted.
A voice offscreen then asks if she can name her assaulters.
She responds, “Ritu… Riya… Lalita… Sonu… Vikram. Lock them all up. They are all in the sex work… they called me and they are blackmailing me.” In another, and more disturbing, video, the woman is being dragged out of a room by an unknown man, who also tried to cover her mouth as she screamed.
According to the police, the woman was an employee of a guest house and had been working there for nearly 18 months. She told police she had been pushed to engage in sex work in return for more money and, on Saturday night, had been told to come to the guest house.
She was then reportedly forced into sex acts against her will.
According to her, after this, and as she was leaving, the guest house owners reportedly ordered her to stay the night. She claimed to have been beaten, and hit with a beer bottle, when she refused. The assault and her screams led to a ruckus.
“She narrated the whole incident to us about being raped and said she was beaten by the accused. They had also broken a glass bottle on her head. She was also forced to drink alcohol,” Mohit Sharma, the in-charge of the Basai Police Station, told news agency PTI.
“She also said the accused made an objectionable video… based on which they were blackmailing her.”
“On Saturday night, police received a call. A woman was raped and assaulted. According to the victim, a case has been filed under relevant sections,” Agra Sadar ACP Archana Singh said.
A medical examination is underway and legal action is being taken, the top police officer said. Police have filed charges under rape, assault, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
With input from agencies
