17-year-old girl gangraped after being forced to drink liquor in Gujarat's Bhuj; four held

Bhuj, Mar 21: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and gang-raped after being forced to consume country-made liquor on the outskirts of Bhuj town in Gujarat's Kutch district, police said on Sunday.

Four persons have been arrested in connection with the crime, which took place on a farm at the foot of a hill in Bhujia area on March 16, Kutch West Superintendent of Police Saurabh Singh said.

The teenage victim was found lying unconscious and rushed to a hospital by people residing in the vicinity, he said. "She had gone to the farm with a friend, where the accused made her consume liquor and also had it themselves, following which they gang-raped her. Based on her complaint, four people were arrested," the SP said.

"The victim remembers one person raping her, after which she fainted due to the effect of liquor. A second person has confessed to raping her. A probe is underway to find out if the other two accused also raped her while she was unconscious," Singh added.

The four accused have been charged by Bhuj B Division police under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 366 (abduction), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison), 376 (rape), and 114 (abettor present when offence committed) as well as provisions of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

The woman has been raped by more than one person and medical reports of the victim are awaited to ascertain if the remaining two accused also raped her, another official involved in the probe said. He identified the accused as Hussain Kakal (35), Rahul Sathwara (19), Valji Vadhiyara (24) and Mahesh Maheshwari (20), all of whom were remanded in police custody for 10 days.