Forget the capital city, Mumbai seems to be the trending "rape capital" of the country now!
In a gruesome incident reported last evening, a 22-year-old photojournalist was brutally gangraped by five men.
An intern for a lifestyle magazine, the girl was on an assignment when the loathsome incident took place. She was visiting the abandoned Shakti Mills complex, adjoining the crowded Mahalaxmi train station with a male colleague when five men barged in, bashed up her friend and assaulted her, all in broad daylight.
The incident happened between 5pm and 6pm. The men apparently stopped in to accuse the duo of trespassing into "railway property" and forced the duo to accompany them to their "senior officers".
A tiff ensued and the men darted towards the girl and her colleague. They first beat up the man and tied him up with a belt. Then they dragged the girl inside the decrepit complex and raped her. They later fled the crime scene on a train, leaving the girl and her injured friend in deep trauma. The two waited for some time before they could muster enough strength to step out of the mill. They then called their friends and her family who lodged a complaint of rape at the N M Joshi Marg police station.
The girl was sent to Jaslok Hospital for a medical examination before registering the complaint. The family said the girl has suffered multiple injuries, but was responding well to treatment.
"I have asked zonal deputy commissioner Vinayak Deshmukh to visit the victim and the spot of the crime," additional commissioner of police (central) Praveen Salunkhe said. "We are in the process of identifying the culprits," he added. He expressed confidence that the guilty would be arrested soon.
The police have released five sketches drawn up late last night based on details given by the girl and her colleague. A massive search has been launched to nab the five guilty. The Mumbai police are working on it on a warfooting. Two victims have been identified
Four of the suspects are believed to be in their early 20s and at least two of them could be drug addicts. Mr Singh said: "One of the suspects was smoking, and from the way the girl and her friend described another man, he seems to be a drug addict."
Meanwhile, a protest rally has been called today t Hutatma Chowk to condemn the photojournalist's gangrape.
(With inputs from Firstpost)
(AW: Suchorita Dutta)
