Six men who attacked an interfaith couple in Karnataka’s Haveri district were on Thursday booked on charges of gangrape, reported The Indian Express.
The attack took place on January 7 when a group of six men barged into the couple’s hotel room and assaulted them. A video showed the men abusing and thrashing the couple.
The gangrape charge was added in the first information report based on the woman’s complaint, the police said. An initial first information report was filed based on the complaint of one of the employees at the hotel, according to the newspaper.
The woman, who is married, is in a relationship with the man she had checked with into the hotel, reported The Indian Express.
“I reached the lodge around 1 pm,” the woman said in a video on Thursday, reported the newspaper. “A few minutes after I entered, many youths barged in and attacked us. They assaulted me and took me on a bike. I was taken to a forest and raped. I begged them to leave me but they did not pay any heed. Later, they dropped me near the bus stand and left. I want them to be punished.”
The police have said that the case was seen as that of moral policing before the women’s new statement.
“We will initiate action against those who take the law into their hands,” Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan said reported The Indian Express. “We are taking this case seriously.”
On Thursday, the police had arrested two men identified as Aftab Maqbool Ahmed Chandanakatti and Madarsab Mahmed Isaq Mandakki. Later in the day, three other men were also arrested.
“We have taken five persons into custody, while a sixth, who met with an accident, is in hospital,” Haveri Superintendent of Police Anshu Kumar told The Indian Express. “We will take him into custody once he recovers.”
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