Man shot dead, 4 women of his family allegedly raped by armed men on highway near UP's Greater Noida

Highlights 6 armed men allegedly attack, loot family near UP's Greater Noida

Family was travelling in a car from Jewar to Bulandshahr

4 women allegedly gang-raped, man shot dead while trying to save them

A man was shot dead and four women of his family were allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint in the early hours of Thursday on the highway near Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, around 68 km from Delhi.The family of four men and four women was travelling in a car from Jewar, which is in Greater Noida, to Bulandshahr, to visit a relative in hospital. Their car reportedly stopped after hitting a metal object in the middle of the highway around 1 am.When some members of the family came out to investigate, six armed men allegedly surrounded the car, dragged the women out and gang-raped them before looting the family. A 45-year-old man was shot dead when he tried to save the women.Members of the family say before getting out of the car, they called the police for help, suspecting something was wrong. The police still took more than an hour to arrive, they claim.The police say the women were harassed, but sexual assault will be confirmed by a medical test.The gang allegedly robbed the family of jewellery and Rs 44,000 in cash.The incident is chillingly similar to one last year near the highway in Bulandshahr, when another family was targeted by a group of armed men. A woman and her 13-year-old daughter were pulled out of the car and gang-raped in the fields while the men of the family were tied up and beaten.

The incident became a huge challenge to the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government and was held up by rival parties as an example of lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh. Women's safety was one of the promises made by the BJP, which came to power in March, decimating the Samajwadi party.Long stretches of the highways connecting UP are crime-prone and there have been allegations of rape and robbery by gangs.