Five women NGO workers gang-raped at gunpoint in Jharkhand

Ranchi, June 22

Five women working with an NGO were allegedly raped at gunpoint by a group of at least five men when they had gone to Chochang village in Jharkhand to create awareness on migration and human trafficking, police said on Friday.

Initial investigation has found that the people behind ‘Pathalgarhi’ (a practice in which villagers inscribe various tenets on huge stone slabs and ban outsiders in their area), are behind the incident in Khunti district on Tuesday, Deputy Inspector General of Police Amol V Homker said.

According to SP Ashwini Kumar Sinha, an 11-member team of an NGO went to the village to perform a street play on migration and human trafficking.

A group of men arrived on the scene and took them to a nearby forest at gunpoint where the crime was perpetuated, the police said.

The police have identified the culprits and eight people were detained, he said. An FIR had been filed and three teams had been formed to investigate the matter and arrest the culprits, he said.

The police officer said the victims did not inform the administration about the incident. They got the information from sources and identified the culprits.

Medical examination of the women had been completed, he said.

The National Commission for Women has instituted a three-member inquiry team to investigate the incident.

Under-Secretary Preeti Kumar will lead the team that will travel to Khunti. PTI