A 21-year-old woman was gang-raped by three men who posed as human rights activists in Pune late on Thursday. The woman had gone to Bopdev Ghat area in the city with a friend, who was also beaten up by the accused, when the incident happened.
Police have arrested one suspect, identified as Raje Khan Karim Pathan, a 36-year-old resident of Kondhwa. The incident happened when the survivor and her friend were in the Bopdev Ghat area. One of the accused, Pathan, approached them in a car, posing as a human rights activist.
The accused claimed that couples were prohibited in the area and took photos of the duo. Pathan then threatened the woman and forced her into his car. After driving her to a different location, Pathan stopped the car and gang-raped her along with his two friends. The survivor’s friend was also beaten up by the accused before raping her.
The accused later left her and fled. The survivor was found injured and has been admitted to a hospital for treatment and filed a complaint with the Kondhwa police early this morning, leading to Pathan's arrest.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman suffered several injuries to her body. Senior police officers and teams from the Crime Branch were investigating the case.
A search was on for the other two accused. As many as 10 teams from the Crime Branch and Detection Branch (DB) have been deployed to locate and arrest the remaining suspects.
