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Three men from the same village have been named in the FIR. One of them was a student of the woman’s father.

New Delhi: Every morning around 7:30 am, she would board the bus with her father and get off at the Kanina station, from where she would walk to her coaching centre. It was a short walk, barely 200 metres. Her father would go 2 km further to the private school where he is a sports teacher.

On Wednesday morning, the father noticed their bus was being followed by three men from their village. Two were allegedly riding an Apache motorcycle, while one was driving a Renault Kwid.

“They kept tailing the bus. I didn’t think much of it till we found her and she told me about what they had done,” he said.

Also read: Kidnappings double, rape cases up as Haryana sees sharp rise in crimes against women

The 19-year-old girl, who was a CBSE class X topper, was allegedly gang-raped near her native Kosli in Rewari district of Haryana Wednesday. A zero first information report was filed in Rewari district and then transferred to Kanina police station.

Three men from the same village have been named by the father in the FIR. One of them is his former student. The police have taken into the custody the father of one of the accused, and seized a car of another accused.

All three accused are absconding.

At the hospital

On Thursday, the Civil Hospital in Rewari conducted a preliminary examination of the survivor. “A swab was taken. She was tested for the presence of sedatives. We will have to wait and see what the reports say,” said Dr. Sudershan Pawar, the medical superintendant.

“Her vitals were normal so we sent her home,” he added.

But she had to be admitted on Friday after she complained of abdominal pain.

“The girl was completely fine when she came for a check-up yesterday,” said Pawar. “But now we are keeping her under observation for a day, and possibly the night. Since she complained of abdominal pain, an ultrasound has been conducted.”

The hospital is keeping the survivor under strict vigil, even getting into scuffles with extended family members, who are not being allowed to stay in her same room for too long.

The woman is conscious, but can barely speak.

The sequence of events

After she graduated from class X, she was invited to Rashtrapati Bhawan where she was felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said her father.

“I stood outside and waited for her, they didn’t allow me inside. But she was so happy that day,” said her father. A former national level kabaddi player, he coaches the sport at a local private school.

A second-year college student, the girl was attending coaching classes to prepare for railway exams.

On Wednesday, three men — Pankaj, Manish and Nishu — chatted her up after she got down from her bus in the morning. “They asked her where she was headed to. She told them she was going to her coaching,” claimed her mother.

“Then they forced her to drink some water in which they had mixed something. She fell unconscious then and there,” the mother alleged, as she quietly sobbed.

After the accused drugged her, the father claimed, they took her to a nearby well, 2 km away from to the village.

“She could identify only three of them, but there were at least 8-10 more, she says,” alleged the father.

Also read: When patriarchy meets smartphone pornography: Why tiny Haryana is India’s rape capital

Around 5 pm, the accused made her call her father and told him to pick her up from the bus stand where they left her. “She was sobbing and sobbing. She finally told us what happened later that night. We rushed to the police station. After all our efforts, an FIR was finally registered at around 1 am in the night,” said the father.

“Only now are the police paying attention and investigating with some rigour. None of the men have been found,” he said.

The men have allegedly threatened the family with dire consequences if they go to the police.

“Everything possible is being done to track down the men,” said Mukesh, assistant sub-inspector, Kanina. “The case came to us yesterday, we will act as swiftly as we can,” she added.

‘Never knew the boys’

Although the survivor knew of the boys, said her parents and other family members, they never met. “She only knew them as people her father taught. That’s all,” said her aunt.

The men are believed to be between 22-23 years of age. The father reportedly coached Pankaj for most of his life. “Pankaj even got a job under sports quota. This is how he has repaid his guru,” said the girl’s uncle.

The men, apparently, have a number of cases registered against them. “One of them has a case for illegal possession of weapons. Others as well. So many complaints have been made against them but no action was ever taken,” alleged the father.

Also read: It’s 2018, and Haryana is still swapping the girl child for marriage

The men have been known to sexually harass and assault other women in the past, according to the survivor’s aunt.

“Only ten days ago, they were accused of assaulting another woman in the locality. But most don’t report it because they are scared of what society will say about them,” the aunt said.

‘Hang them’

The girl’s family wants the men hanged. “My daughter never went out of the house. I keep no pets, she had everything she needed right there. She didn’t even have a phone,” said the father.

“The strictest punishment is what we want, we want them to be hanged for they have done to my little girl.”

Her mother too demanded the same. “See what they have done to my daughter, I can’t even bear to speak about it,” she said.

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