A 21-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and beaten by five men this week when she went to meet an acquaintance to explore a job opportunity. The incident took place around 8.30pm on Wednesday at a park in Sector 63 of Noida, barely 500 metres away from a police post in the area, the police said.
Police have arrested four men, including the acquaintance who allegedly tried to sexually assault her, while two are still at large. The arrested men were identified by the police as Ravi, a resident of phase 3; Brijkishore, Pitambar alias Pritam, and Umesh. All are residents of Sector 63. The two men who are yet to be caught were identified as Guddu and Shamu.
According to the police, the woman, who lives with her family in Noida, had gone to Sector 63 to meet Ravi, who works as a peon at an export company and had called her there on the pretext of discussing a job opportunity. Ravi took her to a nearby park, where he tried to rape her, the police said. The woman started screaming, following which two men approached them. The two started beating up Ravi, who ran away.
After Ravi fled, Guddu and Shamu raped the woman and called Brijkishore, Pitambar and Umesh who took turns to rape her. All the five then fled. The victim approached the police at around 9.30 pm and lodged a police complaint. Brijkishore, Pitambar, and Umesh worked as contract vegetable farmers at a farm in Bahlolpur village in Noida near Sector 65, the police said.
The woman was taken to a district hospital, where she is undergoing treatment and was said to be out of danger on Friday. The woman was raped in an empty plot near the park where she was also beaten up by the men.
“The girl was bleeding and needed urgent medical attention when she approached the nearby police post; she was rushed to the hospital immediately. She is out of danger now but she was beaten up badly by the accused,” said Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police, Gautam Buddh Nagar. “Two accused are still at large and will be arrested soon.”
Chief medical officer of Gautam Buddh Nagar district Anurag Bhargava said on Friday that the victim was out of danger, but hadn’t overcome trauma. “A team of doctors are constantly monitoring her condition. We are trying our best to take her out of fear,” he said.
When she was brought to the hospital, she was bleeding profusely, had external injuries and was unable to even walk, said Bhargava.
Noida Police immediately formed two teams of police officers to catch the suspects. An additional team of police officers and informants was also formed to catch them.
Noida Police arrested Ravi on charges of attempt to rape on the basis of information provided by the victim. Police then prepared the sketches of the other five men with the help of Ravi and the victim, and three were arrested within 12 hours of Ravi being caught .
The police have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information that could lead to the arrest of each of the two men still at large.
“The park where the incident took place has a boundary around it and it is not developed properly like a park. It is next to the service lane. There are people who do small-time farming over there and few use the park as a shortcut to get to the other side,” said Devendra Singh, station house officer of the Phase 3 police station.
The police plan to refer the victim for compensation under the government’s Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes.