india

Updated: Jan 04, 2019 16:25 IST

A 16-year-old who was preparing for her class 10 board exams slated to begin on February 12 was abducted and gang-raped while she was returning to her home in Bharatpur village of West Bengal’s West Midnapore district.

The incident took place on Thursday night near Debra, about 105 km to the west of Kolkata.

Two youths are alleged to have abducted the girl by force and committed the crime. She was later found abandoned by the side of a road and rushed to Debra Hospital and later to Midnapore Medical College Hospital and subjected to a medical test on Friday.

“The family of the victim has lodged a complaint of gang rape. A case has been registered under Article 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and we have started investigation,” Alok Rajoria, superintendent of West Midnapore police said.

Officers said two youths have been named as accused in the case and they are absconding.

The father of the girl is a farmer.

The incident happened three days after a housewife in North 24 Parganas was allegedly gang-raped. On Tuesday night, she was raped by four youths when she was returning home with her 12-year-old son who had gone to take tuition.

In 2016, West Bengal recorded 980 cases of rape and 130 cases of gang-rape. That year, Bengal was listed at the second position among the states in India, accounting for 9.6% of overall crimes against women in the country. Uttar Pradesh topped with 14.5%.