10 Men Gang-Rape Sisters In Chhattisgarh's Raipur: All Accused Arrested

A disturbing incident unfolded in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district, where two sisters, one of whom is a minor, were gangraped by a group of ten men. According to reports, police swiftly acted, leading to the arrest of all suspects, including the son of a prominent local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, on Friday.

According to the police, the incident happened on Thursday night in the vicinity of the Mandir Hasaud area in Raipur. The two sisters, aged 19 and 16, were returning home after celebrating Rakshabandhan in Mahasamund district, accompanied by a male friend on a motorcycle. Near a village in the Mandir Hasaud area, three of the culprits intercepted them, robbing them of cash and mobile phones, as per the police.

Raipur's senior superintendent of police (SSP), Prashant Agarwal, said, "According to the complaint, the three accused robbed them of cash and mobile phones. Meanwhile, the other seven accused reached the spot on four motorcycles. The accused took the two sisters to an isolated place away from the main road and allegedly raped them. Their friend was assaulted and threatened at knife-point."

Subsequently, the assailants fled the scene, leaving the two sisters behind. The assistant superintendent of police (ASP) (rural), Raipur, Neeraj Chandrakar, disclosed, "The friend and the two sisters somehow managed to reach the local police patrol unit, from where they were brought to the police station."

Prompt action was taken by law enforcement, registering a case and swiftly identifying and arresting all ten suspects based on descriptions provided by the victims and additional information.

The accused individuals face charges under sections 376D (gang rape), 376DA (gang rape on women under sixteen years of age), and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Among the accused, one, Poonam Thakur, has a history of criminal activity and is considered the primary perpetrator in this case. Police further revealed that Poonam Thakur's father, Laxminarayan Singh Thakur, is the son of the Mandal vice-president of BJP in Mandir-Hasaud.

"The accused, Poonam Thakur, has had five cases registered against him at Mandir Hasaud and Arang police stations in the past. He was arrested in 2019 and 2022 on charges of murder and rape, respectively, and was released on bail last month," noted the SSP.