A 19-year-old Dalit girl was brutally gang-raped by five men in a forest near Churhat, Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh, while her male companion was beaten unconscious, police reported Wednesday. Three suspects have been detained in the ongoing manhunt.
The survivor and her friend were ambushed in the wooded area when the attackers overpowered them.
“They thrashed the boy senseless before dragging the girl away,” said a police official.
The assailants stole their phones and threatened them against reporting the crime. Bleeding and traumatized, the victim staggered to a nearby construction site around 2:30 pm where laborers helped alert authorities.
“We’ve registered cases under IPC and SC/ST Act sections,” confirmed Churhat police, adding that forensic teams had combed the crime scene.
Special squads are scouring neighboring villages for the two remaining fugitives. “The main perpetrators will soon be in custody,” assured a senior officer.
The survivor is receiving medical care as activists condemn the rising violence against marginalized women in the region.
(Identity protected as per legal protocols for sexual assault survivors.)
