BHOPAL: Betrayed by the man she trusted and left alone in a forest after being gang-raped by 2 men, a 21-year-old woman waited through the night in the jungles of Ghoradongri in Betul district, hoping he would return. When dawn broke and he did not, she walked into the Tawa river in an attempt to end her life. The woman, now bedridden in hospital with a fractured waist, survived as the water level was shallow.Police arrested all 3 accused — Shambu Navde (25), the main accused who befriended the woman and later raped her; Pankaj Uike (24), who also raped her; and Rawat Uike (22), who initially accompanied the main accused and later took leave — in the case.
Ghoradongri police outpost in-charge Amrapali Dahat told TOI, “The woman became friends with a 25-year-old youth, Shambu, and the 2 were in regular contact over the phone. On the night of January 3, when no one was present at her house, the youth arrived with a friend named Rawat Uike and asked her to elope with him. Trusting him, the woman packed her belongings and left home.”“After travelling some distance, the friend who accompanied the youth left them. The youth then contacted another person, Pankaj Uike, after which the woman was taken to a forest area. There, she was allegedly raped first by Shambu and then by the other accused, Pankaj,” she said.“After the assault, the 2 men fled, leaving the woman alone in the forest. In a state of shock and despair, she waited through the night, believing the youth would return for her. When he did not, and realising she left home with her bag and had nowhere to go, she attempted suicide by jumping into the Tawa river early the next morning on January 4,” Dahat said.“She survived but sustained a serious fracture to her waist and is currently undergoing treatment,” she added. “The woman’s parents took her to hospital, and on January 5 we received information from there. A case was registered and all 3 accused, who were planning to escape to Hyderabad, were arrested and produced before court, which sent them to jail,” she said.
