The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested three more women and apprehended two minors after a group of people abducted, sexually assaulted and paraded a woman in the city’s Shahdara area.
The police have taken nine people in custody in all.
In videos of the incident, the woman could be seen being forced to walk on a street with her face blackened and hair chopped off.
The woman told the police that she was at her house with her two-year-old child when some of the accused persons allegedly abducted her and took her to their house, according to The Indian Express.
She alleged that some men raped inside the house, and that the women “instigated” them. The complainant said that the women later thrashed her with sticks.
The woman’s sister said that a man in the neighbourhood had been pursuing her but she turned down his advances, according to The Times of India. After the man died by suicide, his family blamed the woman.
“The accused said her son had died by suicide in November because of that woman,” Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police R Sathiyasundaram was quoted as saying by ANI.
Sathiyasundaram also said the incident, which took place on Wednesday, was the result of personal enmity. He added that the police had received information that some women had abducted the victim and had assaulted and threatened her.
The police officer said the woman has been rescued and is undergoing medical treatment and counselling. Another suspect was apprehended on Thursday while raids are underway to arrest the others, said Sathiyasundaram.
Swati Maliwal, the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, wrote on Twitter on Thursday that the woman told her that she had been abducted from her home and gangraped by three men involved in the illegal trade of liquor and drugs, Maliwal wrote on Twitter.
The Delhi Commission for Women said the police have been asked to provide security to the woman.
The National Commission for Women wrote to Delhi Commissioner of Police Rakesh Asthana on Thursday seeking the arrest of the accused and registration of a case under Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code for gangrape and other provisions. It also sought security measures for the woman as well as financial compensation.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday called the incident deeply shameful. “How did the criminals find the courage to do this?” he asked. “I urge the Union home minister and the Lieutenant Governor to direct the police to take strict action, and pay attention to law and order.”
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