Jealous of her relationship with a man from another State, a young man allegedly raped a 30-year-old Assamese woman and physically abused her while his three friends held her. The incident took place in West Delhi’s Mundka more than a week ago.
The woman, who was seriously injured, was admitted to a hospital and discharged only on Saturday. In her statement to the magistrate, she said the accused men had barged into her house and thrashed her male companion before assaulting her. Three of the suspects, including the alleged rapist, hail from Assam.
Having separated from her husband four years ago, the woman had come to Delhi along with her son, who is now eight years old. She lives in a slum in Mundka and does odd jobs. The suspects are her neighbours and work as daily wage labourers, the police said.
“The prime accused, Shahjahan (22), had expressed his desire sometime ago to marry the woman but she had turned down his offer. Instead, she planned to marry another man living in the same locality. Shahjahan was jealous and angry that she had spurned someone belonging to her own State,” said a police officer. Shahjahan and his friends had allegedly warned the woman several times to keep away from her friend.
On the night of November 9, the victim’s male friend was having dinner with her when Shahjahan barged inside her house with three other friends. They beat him up and threw him out. After this, Shahjahan allegedly raped the woman and inserted a bamboo stick in her private parts while his friends restrained and thrashed her. Neighbours informed the police and the woman was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital with severe injuries. Based on the information provided by the slum dwellers, the four suspects were arrested on the day of the incident and booked for gang-rape.
However, the police on Sunday said the victim told the magistrate that only Shahjahan had raped her. The victim is currently in a state of shock and is being counselled by an NGO.
