21-year-old gang-raped by three men posing as activists in Pune, friend beaten up

Pune police arrested one suspect after he and his two friends raped a 21-year-old woman in Pune. The survivor's friend was also beaten up before the accused raped the woman.

In Short

• One suspect arrested and search for two others were ongoing
• Survivor's friend was beaten up before she was raped
• Preliminary probe suggests victim suffered injuries to her body

A 21-year-old woman was gang-raped by three men who posed as activists in Pune late on Thursday. The woman had gone to Bopdev Ghat area in the city with a friend, who was also beaten up by the accused, when the incident happened.

Police have arrested one suspect, a 36-year-old resident of Kondhwa. The incident happened when the survivor and her friend were in the Bopdev Ghat area. One of the accused approached them in a car, posing as an activist.

The accused claimed that couples were prohibited in the area and took photos of the duo. One of the accused then threatened the woman and forced her into his car. After driving her to a different location, they stopped the car and gang-raped her. The survivor’s friend was also beaten up by the accused before raping her.

The accused later left her and fled. The survivor was found injured and has been admitted to a hospital for treatment and filed a complaint with the Kondhwa police early this morning, leading to Pathan's arrest.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman suffered several injuries to her body. Senior police officers and teams from the Crime Branch were investigating the case.

A search was on for the other two accused. As many as 10 teams from the Crime Branch and Detection Branch (DB) have been deployed to locate and arrest the remaining suspects.