New Delhi: A 15-year-old girl, who was allegedly gang-raped by five men in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, was seen walking naked on the street – allegedly after the incident – in a viral video that emerged on social media on September 21, Wednesday.
According to news reports, which cited the police complaint, filed only after a week, the incident happened on September 1 when the girl had gone to attend a fair along with her friend in a neighbouring village.
When she was returning at around 8 pm, five men, who were on two bikes, allegedly kidnapped her and took her to a forest area in Moradabad’s Saidpur Khadar area. All five men allegedly took turns raping her and then they decamped with her clothes.
A man in the vicinity, upon hearing her screams, tried to rescue the girl, after which she walked back home naked.
According to the news agency IANS, instead of helping the girl, some passers-by are seen standing as mute spectators, while others filmed her and shared the disturbing videos on social media platforms.
Incidentally, the girl’s parents didn’t believe her at first, and it was her uncle who registered a complaint in this case, Firstpost reported.
The girl’s uncle told IANS, “She was bleeding profusely when she returned home and narrated the ordeal to us.”
However, when the victim’s uncle approached the police to file a complaint, no action was initiated until he raised the matter before the district police head, the report said.
A first information report (FIR) was lodged on September 7, and one of the accused was arrested on September 15, IANS reported.
However, in contrast to the family’s earlier statement, the superintendent of police (rural), Sandeep Kumar Meena, told PTI that the victim and her parents have denied that she was gang-raped. An official alleged that the victim has mental disabilities.
“The incident occurred around a fortnight ago and an accused [Naushe Ali] in the case has been sent to judicial custody. The rape was not confirmed in a medical examination of the woman. The matter is under investigation,” deputy inspector general of Moradabad range, Shalabh Mathur, told the news agency PTI.
The FIR named five accused, later identified as Nitin, Kapil, Ajay, Imran and Naushe Ali, who have been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 376D (gang-rape) and the POCSO Act.
(With PTI inputs)
Featured image: PTI
This article was first published on The Wire.