Three men posing as ‘activists’ of a human rights organisation gang-raped a 21-year-old woman in Pune on Thursday. The incident occurred in Bopdev Ghat in Pune on Thursday night when she was on a late-night walk with her friend. A case has been filed at the Kondhwa police station and a suspect named Pathan has been arrested in connection with the case.
According to reports, one of the accused approached the duo in a car posing as an ‘activist’. He told them that the area was off-limits and clicked pictures of the couple. Another accused then threatened the duo and forced them into their car. They took them to a different location where the woman was gang-raped and her friend assaulted. Reports quoted a senior police officer saying that the three men had restrained the man with a rope, took the woman to a secluded area, and gang-raped her.
The three accused then left them and fled from the scene. Traumatised by her predicament, the woman was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital by her friend, where the assault was confirmed by medical examination.
Commenting on the incident, Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma noted that the location where the crime took place is secluded and lacks proper lighting. He also confirmed that the police were notified in the early hours of Friday, and 10 crime branch teams have been deployed to track down the accused.
A suspect named RK Pathan has been arrested in connection with the case. The police said he posed as an ‘activist’ of a human rights organisation and forced the 21-year-old woman into the car claiming couples were not allowed to loiter in the neighbourhood. The police have intensified the manhunt to arrest other accused in the case.
