‘Pregnant’ woman gang raped by ‘ex’ and his 7 friends?

In a shocking incident, a purportedly ‘pregnant’ woman was allegedly gang raped by her ‘former live-in partner’, along with seven other men in Tasgaon, Sangli. The incident took place during the intervening night of July 31 and August 1, when the 20-year-old victim was accompanying her husband for a business meeting.

The woman lodged a First Information Report (FIR) with the Tasgaon police on August 1. The police has however, not made a single arrest in the case and has instead chosen to ‘verify’ her claim first.

Initial reports said the police team at Tasgaon had only detained Sagar, Mukund Mane and Vinod. However, late in the night they were formally arrested.

“The three men have been arrested and are being interrogated. We are trying to ascertain their role in the case,” a senior official, who did not wished to be named, told Free Press Journal.

“The main accused, according to the complainant, is her former live-in partner, with whom she had parted ways more than a month ago, due to some dispute over gold ornaments and money. The others named in the FIR are claimed to be friends and family members of her live-in partner,” the officer confirmed.

The victim, in her FIR, claimed to be eight-months pregnant. However, she initially refused to undergo a medical test, the police said. “We are yet to determine if the victim is pregnant. Her contention is yet to be medically proven and so we requested her to undergo a medical test, but she has refused to do so. Her refusal is on record with us,” the senior officer said.

He later informed that the woman, who had returned to her own house in Satara, has now accepted that she will undergo the requisite medical test. “We have sent our team comprising of women police officers to her house and a medical test will now be conducted there,” the officer said.

The woman, however, has a very different story to tell. According to her FIR, she along with her husband, who runs a hotel, had been to Tasgaon to hire a couple for their business. There, one of the accused - Mukund - called her husband and asked him to come to Turchi Phata.

“Mane claimed that he knew a couple who would work under the victim and her husband. He had even asked us to bring an advance payment of Rs. 20000 to pay them,” the FIR states.

However, when the victim and her husband reached the spot, Mane and his friends assaulted them, locked the husband in a vehicle and then gang-raped her. The victim claimed that all the accused were ‘influential’ men in the locality.

Meanwhile, the state commission for women has summoned higher officials of the Sangli police and sought a detailed report in the incident.

The letter written by Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson of the commission, stated, “The matter is serious and thus the Superintendent of Police should personally intervene and take suitable action. Also he should submit a report of action taken at the earliest.”