In yet another depressing tale from the national capital, a woman was gangraped by a man she claimed she was her husband, and two of his friends inside a moving vehicle before being dumped on the road.
The three accused — Inderjeet (who she claims is her husband), Nitin and Bijendra — have been arrested. While Inderjeet is a businessman in Bakkarwala in southwest Delhi, the other two are property dealers, reported the Times of India.
Hindustan Times said the incident came to light around 9pm after a man made a call to the police to inform them that a woman was lying unconscious in a lane near Udasin Ashram in Najafgarh.
She had reportedly made a written statement claiming she was gangraped, and rape had also been confirmed by a medical examination.
According to the woman, she had told police that she had married Inderjeet at a local temple. “Inderjeet’s relatives then called her to Bakkarwala so that they could complete the formalities of registry marriage”, said an officer to Times of India.
The men, police told Indian Express, gave the woman a drink laced with sedatives. When she fell unconscious, they took turns to rape her.
There is however some confusion on the status of her relationship with Inderjeet, reported Times of India.
“Earlier, the 26-year-old woman had lodged an FIR at the Mundka station, alleging that Inderjeet had raped her. Inderjeet had also lodged a complaint on February 28, alleging that the same woman was trying to falsely implicate him in crime against women cases. A police probe is on”, it said.
The female British activists, two of whom are sisters, were taking part in an
aid convoy bound for Gaza that intended to try to break the Israeli blockade.
Libyan deputy prime minister Awad al-Barassi, who visited the women in the
hospital, said the victims were travelling with two male companions when they
were kidnapped on Tuesday on their way to the Benghazi airport after deciding to
return to Britain.
"Sadly [the perpetrators] belong to army, but they don't reflect the ethics
of Libya army," Mr al-Barassi said in an interview with the national Libya
al-Hurra television channel.
"I visited the rape victims. They are in a very bad psychological state. They
were raped in front of others, in front of their father. This is a heinous
crime," he added.
The 10-vehicle convoy had been carrying medical supplies and was named the
"Mavi Marmara" in honour of a ship involved in a 2010 deadly flotilla incident,
according to Huseyin Oruc of IHH, a Turkish humanitarian relief organisation.
He said the women, who are British of Pakistani origin, were attacked and
robbed, and that their abductors included a taxi driver and a group of men in
military uniforms.
A resident in the city of Benghazi told The Daily Telegraph that the perpetrators of the crime came from an armed group calling themselves "The First Unit", which forms part of the Libyan armed forces.
Less than two years on from the civil war, the government is struggling to bring militia groups under its control. Many have been incorporated into the country's new armed forces, but discipline is scant.
IHH mediated the release of the kidnapped women and men after they were contacted by the convoy's organisers and to help. By Friday three of the perpetrators were believed to have been caught and imprisoned.
The father and his daughters were scheduled to return to Britain.
A resident in the city of Benghazi told The Daily Telegraph that the perpetrators of the crime came from an armed group calling themselves "The First Unit", which forms part of the Libyan armed forces.
Less than two years on from the civil war, the government is struggling to bring militia groups under its control. Many have been incorporated into the country's new armed forces, but discipline is scant.
IHH mediated the release of the kidnapped women and men after they were contacted by the convoy's organisers and to help. By Friday three of the perpetrators were believed to have been caught and imprisoned.
The father and his daughters were scheduled to return to Britain.
