A nurse who is said to have attended to the December 16 Delhi gang-rape victim has allegedly become a victim of sexual assault herself.
The incident reportedly took place at Budhlada in Punjab’s Mansa district on the intervening night of September 8-9.
According to the police, the Delhi-based nurse was called by one of the rape accused, Balwinder Kala, 32, on the pretext of helping his sister-in-law Ramandeep Kaur, whom she knew.
The other accused has been identified as 28-year-old Lakhwinder.
Assistant Sub-inspector Balwinder Singh said: “Balwinder Kala on Sunday contacted the nurse that Kaur was not well and wanted to meet her. She reached Budhlada by train on Monday around 7pm. It was already dark and the accused took her on his scooter to a field near the village.
“Lakhwinder joined him and they gang-raped her throughout the night.
“Balwinder dropped the victim at the railway station on the same scooter on Tuesday morning. Showing presence of mind, she managed to snatch the scooter’s keys and raised alarm.”
The accused fled from the spot, after which the victim reached the Budlada police station and narrated her ordeal to the police.
Both Balwinder and Lakhwinder have been arrested, and a local court sent the duo to two-day police custody on September 10.
The victim works as a staff nurse at a Delhi hospital, the police said.
Arrested: The two suspects, Balwinder and Lakhwinder (pictured in police custody), allegedly dropped the victim at a railway station after the crime.
She is said to have met Kaur around 25 days ago while returning from work at a bus stop in Delhi. Taking pity on Kaur’s distraught condition, the nurse had given her shelter for three days.
Kaur told the nurse that she had left her husband and in-laws after an argument with him.
After three days, Kaur informed her in-laws that she was in Delhi. A relative of Kaur’s husband, Balwinder Kala, was sent to Delhi to bring her back. It was during this encounter that Balwinder exchanged phone numbers with the nurse.
Following this, the nurse sought regular updates about Kaur from Balwinder.
In her statement, the victim claimed that she was forcibly taken by Balwinder and his accomplice to a makeshift house where three other girls and two more men were also present.
While Balwinder and his accomplice have been arrested, the assistant sub-inspector said that the police are investigating to identify and trace the three girls and two men mentioned in the victim’s statement.
“We are investigating the case. The victim, in her statement, has said that three other girls and two more men were also present,” the police officer said.
The nurse underwent a medical examination and the report is expected to come out soon, the police said.
A case has been registered under Section 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
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Source: Dailymail.co.uk