A 17-year-old girl in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly raped by a youth she had befriended on social media and his three friends in a car, according to the police. The incident took place on November 21, but the girl remained silent due to threats from the accused. It was only four days later that a complaint was filed. The victim, who belongs to the Dalit community, has invoked the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the case.
The Additional Superintendent of Police, Niranjan Sharma, stated that the girl had befriended the accused youth on Facebook last year. On the day of the incident, the male friend took her to a deserted forest area in a car, where he and his three friends raped her and threatened to kill her. A case has been registered under sections 376 (Punishment for rape) and 377 (unnatural act), along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Sources within the police have revealed that the victim claims that one of the accused is a close relative of a politician. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to bring the perpetrators to justice.
