LUCKNOW: A 22-year-old deaf and mute woman was allegedly abducted and gangraped by two men in the Bahadurpur area on the outskirts of Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh late on Monday night. The two accused have been apprehended.
The incident gained widespread attention after CCTV footage showed the victim running for her life from bike-borne men on a deserted road, but was allegedly caught by the two perpetrators, went viral on social media.
The incident took place while the woman was walking back home from her maternal uncle’s house, which was just about one kilometre from her house.
The district police zeroed in on the two suspects and arrested them in an encounter late on Tuesday night. They were identified as Ankur Verma, 21, and Harshit Pandey, 22, who confessed to their crime. Police said the investigation was on.
According to additional superintendent of police (ASP) Vishal Pandey, a man on a motorcycle stopped her, forced her to sit with him, and took her to a secluded location where the assault occurred. The victim’s family, however, alleged she was gang-raped.
Footage from a CCTV camera installed at a superintendent of police’s residence shows the woman running and glancing back in fear as multiple unidentified men pursued her on three to four motorcycles.
When she failed to return home, her family launched a desperate search and eventually found her unconscious in bushes near a police post, with her clothing dishevelled.
Upon regaining consciousness, the survivor alleged that she had been gang-raped by the attackers on bikes.
“A medical examination of the victim has confirmed the assault,” said Pandey. The woman was hospitalised after the attack but is now reported to be stable.
Following the complaint of the rape survivor, police registered a case.
While CCTV footage is under review, the victim’s family has accused authorities of negligence, claiming the cameras near the police post where the survivor was found were not working properly.
The family further pointed out that the attack took place near the residences of top officials, including the district magistrate, superintendent of police, and judges, raising serious concerns about security in the area.