Ahmedabad: Nine people have been arrested in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district after a married woman was allegedly stripped, tied up and sexually assaulted during a purported “shuddhikaran” (purification) ritual, the police said.
Surendranagar Superintendent of Police Premsukh Delu said Assistant Superintendent of Police Vedika Dihani and her team made inquiries in the area and eventually traced the woman to her house. “She broke down and narrated the entire incident,” he told Hindustan Times. The nine accused are residents of Dudhrej village in Surendranagar, the police said.
The alleged assault was recorded on a mobile phone and the video was later uploaded on Instagram. Officers then began searching for the woman, whose identity was not known to them at first. The case has been registered at the Surendranagar City A Division police station.
The case came to light after a community member informed the police about the video on Monday.
The Times of India said that the couple were allegedly taken to a house in Surendranagar on October 4. The police have registered the case under Section 70(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with gang rape, along with Section 115(2) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt. Section 67(A) of the Information Technology Act has also been invoked for publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material in electronic form. The TOI reported that the police were also examining additional provisions of the BNS, including sections 127(3), 142 and 3(5).
The woman is from Vapi and had earlier left her husband and gone to Chotila with another man, according to the police. The police said her husband allegedly kept her tied up after she returned. The woman’s husband and other family and community members subsequently traced the couple and took them to a place in Surendranagar for the “shuddhikaran” ritual. The police said the woman was allegedly stripped and tied up during the incident. The man was forced to perform a sexual act with the woman as part of the purported ritual, according to the allegations. Delu said the police are investigating the allegations against the nine accused. The police said all nine accused are from Dudhrej village.
A settlement was later reached between her family and members of the community, after which she returned to her husband. She later escaped and went back to the man. The man accompanying her was also allegedly restrained. He was also allegedly forced to drink her urine. The police are also examining the circumstances in which the videos were recorded and circulated online. The incident was recorded on mobile phones. The footage was later uploaded on social media. A community member saw the video and informed the police. Investigators are looking into the alleged assault as well as the recording and circulation of the footage. A detailed investigation is underway.
The man was allegedly tied to a tree with a rope and the woman was confined to a room before the two were brought together.
