25-year-old raped for a month in Madhya Pradesh, escapes

The false promise of job has trapped numerous unsuspecting men and women, who are desperate to get their families out of the bad financial situation they are in. The case of a 25-year-old married woman from Vitthalwadi is no different.

The victim, who was lured with the assurance of a high-paying job in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly raped by 10 men over a month. The horrific tale came to light after the woman managed to escape, from where she was being held, and return home. She and her husband recently lodged a police complaint, based on which two women — Reshma aka Jyoti Kishore Chandwani and Nitu aka Komal Hitesh Rewani — from the victim's neighbourhood have been arrested for trapping her. They will be in police custody till July 1. A case has been registered against the men, who are yet to be arrested.

The police said the victim, a mother of two, had confided the financial problems her family was going through to the two women who lived nearby. The two accused used to assure the victim that everything will be fine. After a year, having gained her trust, the women in March this year told her that they had some contacts in a company in Khandwa, where they could get her a good job.

As per the victim's complaint, she was initially scared to leave her husband and children behind, worried about who would look after the kids when her husband was away at work. However, the need for money triumphed and she told her husband about the offer. He refused to let her take it, saying she needed to be here for their children, but she somehow managed to convince him.

On April 30, the victim and the two women boarded the Punjab Mail from Kalyan and got down at Khandwa the next day. The women then allegedly introduced the victim to a man saying he would help her get the job, and sent her with him. The man allegedly took her to a forest area, locked her in a hut and repeatedly raped her. After a few days, he even started getting other men there, who would pay him and rape the victim.

Battered, the victim finally got an opportunity to escape in May-end and she jumped out of a window in the middle of the night and ran to the main road. She then hitchhiked her way to the railway station where, she said, a good Samaritan bought her a ticket to Thane. She reached home on June 1 and narrated her ordeal to her husband. Scared to lodge a complaint against their neighbours, the couple finally mustered courage and approached the police.

Investigating officer Chandrakant Khupse from Vitthalwadi police station said, "We have taken the victim's statement and arrested the two women. We have formed a team and will go to Khandwa next week. We have sent the victim for medical examination and are awaiting the report."