17YEAROLD GIRL GANGRAPED IN PATIALA; FOUR ARRESTED

PATIALA: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by her alleged lover and three of his friends, including a 15-year-old minor boy, here on Saturday.

The police have arrested the accused identified as Yogesh Sharma, Gurpreet Singh, Himanshu, all in their 20s, and a 15-yearold boy. All four are residents of the city.

Investigation officer (IO) Harry Boparai said the complainant, who worked in a local cloth shop, alleged that the accused Yogesh, who was known to her, took her to an isolated house on the Patiala-Rajpura road on pretext of providing her a better job.

“Yogesh allegedly offered a sedative-laced drink to the girl, following which she fell unconscious and raped her. Later, Yogesh allegedly called his other friends, who also sexually assaulted her one by one,” the IO said.

The IO said after the girl regained consciousness, the accused allowed her to go away after threatening her of dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident.

“However, the victim told her parents about the incident and she, along with her parents, registered a complaint with the police, following which, the medical tests of the victim were conducted,” the IO said.

The IO said the juvenile accused will be sent to the juvenile home in Ludhiana.

The police have registered a case under section 376 (D) (where person is sexually assaulted by one or more than one persons constituting a group in furtherance of common intention), 366 (abduction), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the IPC and other sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.