Minor Girl Gangraped By 8 Men Including Boyfriend In Punjab

A minor Dalit girl was allegedly gangraped by eight men in Jalandhar, Punjab. The victim's family has accused her boyfriend and seven other people of committing the crime.

Three have been arrested on the basis of a complaint by the girl's family, reported India Today. According to the complaint, the girl was in a relationship with the prime accused, Sandeep.

"It is still not known whether the victim's family knew about their daughter's relationship with the accused," said police.

Sandeep, who promised to marry the girl, had called the victim on March 15 and asked her to meet him the next day at a bus stand at Mandi Dabwali in Sirsa district, Haryana. He had allegedly told the girl that they would go to Jalandhar where they would tie the knot.

Trusting him, the girl left her home around 6 a.m. on March 16. She reached Kilianwali in Punjab from where she was picked up by Sandeep. Soon, they went to Jalandhar. Police said that once they reached Jalandhar, Sandeep took the girl to a room where seven of his accomplices -- Ranjeet, Lambu, Billa, Rahul, Sandeep alias Sainya, Santosh and one unidentified person -- were already present.

After they took turns to rape the girl, she was dropped outside her house around 10 a.m. on March 20.

Police conducted raids to arrest five of the eight accused.

In another incident in March, the Sadar police arrested a Jalandhar resident for allegedly kidnapping, illegal detaining and raping a minor teenage girl.

The accused, Mohammad Junaid Hussan, hails from Rasulpur village in Jalandhar. The victim told the police that she met the accused at a religious place in the Mall Mandi area. She said she and her family knew him as they had been going to the shrine for the past three years.

She said on March 22, she stepped out for some work and met the accused. She added the accused took her to a court where he forcibly took her signature on a plain paper. Later, he took her to Dhaduana village near Rasulpur. According to the girl, the accused threatened to kill her family if she did not marry him. The victim married him out of fear, reported Tribune India.

She said the accused took her to an unknown house in Rasulpur village and forced her to have a physical relationship with him. Later, she filed a complaint after which, the police booked Junaid Hussain on charges of kidnapping, illegal detention and rape, besides relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.