An 18-year-old telephone operator broke down before a fast-track court here on Wednesday while recounting her ordeal at the Shakti Mills compound where she was gang-raped by the same accused who were arrested later for raping a photojournalist.
She requested permission to beat the accused, alleging that they had beaten her brutally while raping her.
According to the police, the 18-year-old had gone to the Shakti Mills compound at Mahalaxmi with her boyfriend on July 31. The duo was allegedly accosted by the accused who tied up the boyfriend and raped the girl.
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On Wednesday, the court recorded the statements of the survivor and her mother.
“As the proceedings began in the morning, the girl started weeping. She was trembling,” special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told The Hindu . “Assuming that she was afraid of the accused, the judge ordered that a partition be put up between them. She still could not stop weeping.
“I told the court that she is a brave girl and she would give her statement,” Mr. Nikam said. “After some time, she regained her composure. She said she would talk about her ordeal. She then recognised four of the five accused present in the court.”
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She also recognised her clothes and a few other materials recovered from the spot. It was then that she sought the court’s permission to beat the accused, Mr Nikam said. The court turned down her request.
The girl and her boyfriend were so terrified after the incident in July that they fled to Chhattisgarh.