MUMBAI: Four men raped a 23-year-old homemaker in a community hall from the night of November 30 to the next morning after her husband struck a deal with them for Rs 1.5 lakh, the police said on Thursday.

When the four refused to pay up, the 26-year-old scaled down his demand to Rs 50,000 and then to Rs 1,500. When they still refused, he claimed they had abducted his wife from outside Mankhurd railway station and gang raped her. The survivor, who is out of danger, is under medical observation.

The police said the husband wanted to earn fast money by offering to "share" his wife. He struck the deal over the phone while leaving West Bengal with his wife on November 28, and told his friends to come to the station. But Mobin Khureshi (40), Sajid Khureshi (24), Nizam Khan (25) and Sujitkumar Chaurasiya (43) spilled the beans and all five were arrested.

"He convinced his wife of one year to accompany him to Mumbai," Mankhurd police senior inspector S G Rajput said.

The survivor said at the station, her husband told her to sit in an auto with his friends.

The four took her to Zakir Hussain Nagar in Bhaiganwadi and raped her one after the other.

When the husband failed to track down his wife till 1.30am, he approached the police.

In the meantime, the survivor screamed for help and residents nabbed the four.

They have been booked under Sections 34 (common intention), 342 (wrong confinement), 370 (buying or disposing of any person as a slave), 376 (g) (gangrape) and 506 (II) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The husband was also booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. They were remanded to police custody till December 7.

What happened

* Issar Ali Lashkar leaves from West Bengal with his wife on November 28.

* While leaving, he calls up four friends and strikes a deal to share his wife with them for a night for Rs 1.5 lakh.

* At 8.30pm on November 30, on reaching Mankhurd railway station, he makes her to sit with the four in an autorickshaw, claiming he will follow.

* Midway, he loses track of the auto.

* The four take his wife to a community hall where they rape her from 9.30pm on November 30 to 3.30am on December 1.

* When he does not find her, he approaches the Mankhurd police.

* Meanwhile, on hearing the survivor's screams, neighbours nab the four.

* On seeing Lashkar with the cops, the accused spill the beans about the deal.

* Police arrest all five.

