A video clip of a woman being tortured and raped that went viral in Assam led to the arrest of the perpetrators – four men and a woman. The gang had recorded themselves torturing the victim, believed to be from Bangladesh, and shared the clip with friends in Assam and West Bengal.
When it went viral, the North East police as well as their counterparts in Bangladesh initiated a probe. The Assam police even put up images of the accused on Twitter seeking information.
By following the chain of forwards, they were able to trace the origin of the video to a cell phone number in Bengaluru. The Bengaluru city police were alerted and special teams, within hours, tracked down the gang on Thursday evening. They were arrested in a rented house at Avalahalli, Ramamurthy Nagar. The arrested men are reportedly labourers.
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They have been identified as Sagar, Mohammed Baba Sheikh, Ridoy Babu and Hakeel. The identity of the woman, who was part of the gang, is yet to be revealed.
Police officials are also concerned as they are unable to trace the victim. “Our initial probe has revealed that the gang brought her illegally into the country by promising her a job. Instead, they forced her into prostitution. She was able to escape but they hunted her down. When they found her, they tortured her brutally and violated her before circulating the video,” said a senior police official. At the time of going to press, special teams had been formed to find the victim.