Minor gang-raped by 5 in Kurukshetra: Police

KURUKSHETRA: A 17-year-old girl, a class 12 student, was allegedly drugged and raped by five people, including the cousin of one of her friends, near her village in Kurukshetra district, police said on Thursday.

Three of the accused have been nabbed by the police while efforts are on to arrest two others, an official said.

Among the three arrested, two are 18 years old while the third one is a juvenile, who was sent to an observation home.

Sub-inspector Praveen Kaur, who is investigating the case, said, “One of the accused youths is a cousin of the victim’s friend.”

Kaur said the incident took place on February 22 when the victim had gone to her friend’s house after school. She complained of dizziness following which her friend told her that her cousin would drop her home. The accused, however, took the victim to a place near Umri Chowk in Kurukshetra, where four others, including a youth who works at a hotel and the juvenile, were present, and raped her there, the SI said, quoting the victim’s complaint to the police. At the time of committing the crime, the accused had also drugged the girl, Kaur added.

Kurukshetra’s Superintendent of Police Himanshu Garg told media persons that an FIR was registered based on the complaint filed by the victim’s father. According to the complaint, her father had dropped her at school at 7 am on that day, the SP said. As per the complaint, after school hours, she used to go to a centre for an Englishspeaking course at 1.30 pm and return home by 4 pm.

The victim’s family members got worried when she did not return till evening, the SP said, adding they contacted the coaching centre and learnt that the girl had not attended the session. “At about 7 pm, when they were going to the police station to file a case, they saw two boys with a girl coming on a motorcycle from Ladwa town side. “They recognised her from the school dress... While the girl was seated in the middle, the boy sitting behind her was pointing a country-made pistol at her head,” the complaint said. The girl’s family members intercepted and managed to rescue her.