7 held for gangrape of woman labourer in Rajasthan’s Kota; 1 absconding: Police

A 42-year woman was allegedly gangraped by at least eight persons in Rajasthan’s Kota town on Friday, police said.
Seven accused have been arrested, police added.
“The incident took place near a slum in Kota’s Railways Colony area when the woman was returning with her contractor around 9pm on Friday. The accused including three history-sheeters snatched her jewelry and purses initially, held them hostage, and later gang-raped the woman,” said Kota police superintendent Amrita Douhan.
According to police, the woman works in the construction sites in Kota based on contracts.
Her husband stays in Madhya Pradesh with one of their three children while two others stayed with the woman in Kota.
“Around four people, under the influence of alcohol, attacked the woman and his contractor when they were returning from a site on Friday. The accused snatched a pair of earrings from the woman and both their purses. They also beat up the contractor when he tried to stop them,” said DSP of Railways Colony Rajesh Soni.
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Meanwhile, one of the accused called four other aides.
“Later, all the eight accused abducted both of them, took them to a bushy area on the roadside, and gang-raped the woman”, the police official said.
The accused escaped after leaving both the woman and the contractor on the road.
“However, once they left the spot, the contractor, however, managed to bring his two-wheeler from his place and dropped the woman at her home that night,” Soni said.
On Saturday morning, the woman reached the local police station and lodged a complaint against eight unidentified persons.
“However, the police have immediately formed a team and identified 7 of them as Kamalesh Koli (25), Shakeer Hussain (24), Vishnu Gautam (23), Gajendra Singh (24), Areef Kalia (19), Rajeswar Kumar (19), and Jammu (20).”
Police said that Kamalesh, Shakeer, Vishnu, and Gajendra were arrested from Vadana on Saturday night.
“Meanwhile, the rest of the three Areef, Rajeswar, and Jammu were also arrested on Sunday night from a new slum area near the incident spot only.
Among the eight accused, Kamalesh, Shakeer, and Jammu are also wanted in several cases including murder, and robbery across several police stations in Kota,” DSP stated.
A case was filed under sections 376 (rape), 376 D (gang-rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 348 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, Kamalesh and Shakeer also sustained minor injuries while trying to jump off a wall to escape the police.
“They were taken in custody after providing primary treatment,” said Soni.
“We are also searching for the eighth accused. Meanwhile, the woman’s medical examination was also conducted. Further investigation is underway,” he added.