Husband among 5 arrested for gang-rape, torture of woman

nTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A man has been taken into custody for allegedly forcing his wife to consume liquor, torturing her and then having her gang-raped by four of his friends in front of their five year-old child near here.

The man’s four friends were also taken into custody on Friday, a day after the incident, police said. The child is also suspected to have been beaten up by the accused.

The Kerala State Women’s Commission has registered a case of rape. The woman told police that her husband had taken her and their two children to the beach in nearby Puthucurichy on Thursday. Then, they visited the house of one of his friends where she was forced to have alcohol and was sexually assaulted in front of her elder son. “The woman was rescued by a young man who found her in an inebriated state along the road.he drove her to her home and then informed police about the incident,” a police officer said.

The man who reported the incident told some television channels that the woman was crying and had injuries on her face.

An officer from Kadinamkulam police station here said the arrests will be recorded after verification of facts.

Police have recorded the statement of the woman who was discharged after being admitted to a government hospital. She told television channels that the men had inflicted burns on her body with cigarette butts and even slapped her multiple times.

“Our preliminary investigation shows the husband was a party to the crime. He even forced her not to file a complaint. Some of the arrested men have a criminal past,” said Thiruvananthapuram rural police superintendent Ashok Kumar. He said the accused will also be charged under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). Police suspect that the men were part of a drug-peddling gang. State Women Commission member Shahida Kamal said the victim will be given protection.