‘A speedy trial will be conducted and those found guilty will be punished,’ Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said
In a shocking incident, a 45-year-old woman in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district suffered major injuries after being gang-raped by four men. The accused also attacked the woman by inserting an iron rod into her private parts, police said adding that the four accused have been arrested.
The incident occurred on Saturday night and the victim is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Rewa district, Amiliya police station in-charge Deepak Baghel said.
Responding to the incident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday wondered "till when will we tolerate" assault on women.
"One more Nirbhaya. Till when we tolerate assault on women?" Rahul Gandhi tweeted tagging a media report on the incident.
Meanwhile Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal on Monday that no culprit will be spared. A speedy trial will be conducted into the case and the accused will be punished, he added.
According to the police, the victim was living with her two children and 40-year-old sister in a shanty on a hillock near Hardi village, about 60 kms from the district headquarters. She ran a shop from her shanty to earn her livelihood, officials said.
Around 10 pm on Saturday, four men approached her and asked her for water. When the woman told them that she did not have any water, the accused broke into her home. They then allegedly raped her and inserted an iron rod into her private parts, an official said quoting the victim's complaint. The woman subsequently fainted due to excessive bleeding, police said.
Her sister could not call anyone for help at that time as their house is located in a desolate place, a police official said. Later, the woman's sister called an auto-rickshaw from Hardi village and took her to Amiliya police station, from where she was taken to Sidhi district hospital, he added.
The woman was initially admitted to the district hospital and later referred to a medical facility in Rewa for treatment as her bleeding continued, he said.
The police detained the four accused on Sunday and are questioning them. The accused belong to the same village as the woman, the official said.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 (rape), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and 34 (common intention), he said.
(With PTI inputs)