Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 22

Two girls, one of them a Dalit, were allegedly gangraped by three youths who offered them a lift on their jeep when they were going to a coaching centre from a village near Rania in Sirsa.

Accused Amar Singh, Mange Ram and Kuldeep Singh allegedly took the girls to a room built in a field near Ellenabad and took turns to rape them. The police have booked the youths, who are at large, for gangrape as well as under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Tension prevails in a village near Rania since the alleged rapists belong to a dominant community while the girls are from poor families.

In their complaint, the girls, who are to appear in their matriculation examination from the open board, alleged that they were waiting at a bus stand at about 10 am on August 18 when the accused approached them on a jeep and offered them the lift.

“Instead of going towards Rania, they diverted the vehicle towards Ellenabad. When we tried to raise an alarm, they gagged us and threatened to kill us. They took us to a room built in a field and raped us after tying us with ropes,” the girls alleged.

They were later allegedly thrown on a roadside in an unconscious condition. Passersby noticed them lying unconscious and took them to their homes. They were later taken to the Rania police station where they recorded their statements in presence of a woman lawyer.

Ellenabad Deputy SP Kuldeep Beniwal said a case of gangrape and atrocities on Dalits was registered against the three accused. He said they would be arrested soon.