Woman in Thane gangraped and attacked with acid; three suspects arrested by police

Thane: A 32-year-old married woman was allegedly raped by two men at her residence in Kalwa township in Thane, police said on Monday. The incident took place late Sunday evening and four accomplices of the accused helped them in committing the crime, police said. [caption id=“attachment_3782019” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] After the incident, the accused allegedly threw acid at the woman before leaving the place, police said. Three of the accused were arrested late last night, police said. According to police, the arrested accused were identified as Gopal Shankar (28), Shanku Hussain (23) and Rangappa Batkai (25). Three others- Shirsappa, Venkatesh Patel and Ashpar Ramul- were still at large. The victim stays with her husband and three children. On Sunday, her husband was out of the town for some work when the accused stormed into their house, a police officer said. “While four of the six accused pinned the victim down, two others took turns to rape her. They committed the act in front her minor children. Before leaving the place, the accused also threw acid at her, in which she suffered burn injuries,” the officer said. The victim was currently undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said. Police suspect that there could could have been enmity between the accused and the victim’s husband. The six accused have been booked under IPC sections 376(d) (gangrape), 326(a) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and and 506 (criminal intimidation).