Horror as woman gang raped by rickshaw drivers | World | News

A woman has been allegedly gang raped by a group of three rickshaw drivers. The incident purportedly occurred in the Khambalpada area of Dombivli, India, on Wednesday night. The alleged perpetrators, Chetan Chauhan, Hemant Chauhan and Umesh Verma, are accused of having targeted the woman in a pre-planned assault by inviting her to a local restaurant. Police say the aim of this was to isolate her.

She is then believed to have been taken close to a residential flat after being told that another person was being picked up. There, the men purportedly overpowered and assaulted her. The alleged victim later filed a complaint at Tilaknagar Police Station, before police arrested all three accused men hours later.

“This was not a crime of opportunity but a clear case of betrayal of trust. The victim was lured under false pretences and overpowered. We acted immediately on her complaint and are committed to ensuring strict punishment,” a police officer told the Mumbai Mirror.

The accused men were booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Indian outlet added.

It was also reported on Thursday that forensic examination had started and statements were being taken.

Sexual violence, including gang rape, is a significant social and legalistic issue in India.

An incident in Delhi in 2012 is viewed as a watershed moment, which focused the country’s national conversation on violence against women and girls.

Jyoti Singh, 23, was gang raped by the driver of the Delhi bus she was travelling on.

She fought back, but suffered internal injuries and was thrown naked from the vehicle.

Jyoti later died within two weeks of the assault.

Hundreds of young women and men in Delhi demanded justice by marching and enduring water cannons and tear gas deployed by the police, the BBC reported.

A United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report described in September 2024 “the endemic violence against women and girls, which is manifested by practices including marital and gang rape, domestic violence, acid attacks and public humiliation involving naked women being paraded through the streets” in India.

The UK Government added: “Gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls, including domestic abuse, rape, dowry-related violence, early and forced marriage, honour crimes and sexual harassment, is reportedly widespread although prevalence varies by type.

“Most GBV occurs in a domestic context. GBV contains a wide spectrum of behaviour, much of which is not likely to be sufficiently serious by its nature and repetition to reach the high threshold of persecution or serious harm.”