Five booked for ‘gangrape’ of pastor’s wife

The police of Division Number 6 have registered a case of gang-rape against five persons, all residents of Garden Colony in Jalandhar. It is alleged that the five men gangraped the wife of a pastor from Fatehgarh Sahib.

As of now, no arrests have been made.

As per information, a complaint was given to the Amloh police in Fatehgarh Sahib on February 5, to which the police filed a zero FIR in the case and later on February 14, referred the case to the Commissionerate Police for further investigation in the case.

After preliminary investigation, the Division Number 6 police finally lodged an FIR under Section 64 of the BNS against five men, identified as Faris Masih, Pargat Singh, Balkar Masih, Mahi Manchanda and Virbal.

As per the statement of the victim in the FIR (the copy of which is in possession of The Tribune), she belongs to the Christian community and frequently travels to various districts of Punjab for religious preaching. She is often accompanied by her husband and other individuals.

She said Faris Masih from Jalandhar was known to her and she had previously conducted preaching with him in Jalandhar.

The victim stated in her testimony that she had come to Jalandhar to collect money from Faris as he owed her some amount. During this visit, the accused allegedly committed the crime along with four other men.

According to the victim, she alleged that when she met Faris in Jalandhar, he placed his hand on her head as a blessing after which she lost consciousness.

When she regained consciousness, she felt pain in her body, leading her to suspect that something wrong had happened to her. As the matter escalated, she reported it to the police.

Meanwhile, the police, including SHO Division Number 6 and ACP, Model Town, Sirivennela, didn’t take calls despite repeated attempts, while Joint Commissioner Sandeep Sharma said he was not aware of the case and would check with the police station.