Mumbai: In an incident chillingly reminiscent of the December 16 gang-rape in Delhi, a 22-year-old photojournalist is in hospital with multiple injuries after being gang-raped by five people on Friday evening at the Shakti Mills compound in Lower Parel, south Mumbai.
The police said the young woman was with a male friend when she was assaulted at about 8.00 pm. The attackers beat up the friend and tied him before raping the young woman, they said.
Twenty people have been detained.
The young woman works for a magazine and was reportedly on assignment when she was attacked.
Preliminary reports suggested that she has multiple injuries, the police said. A doctor at the hospital she is at said, "We are doing the needful...she is under strict observation. At the moment we can't say anything."
The victim's statement, and that of her friend, have been recorded and sketches of the culprits are being prepared, the police said.
They said the victim has told them that two of her attackers called each other Rupesh and Sajid. Among those rounded up for questioning are some known drug abusers, the cops said.
Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil visited the victim in hospital last night. He promised that those responsible would be arrested soon.
Last December, a 23-year-old medical student was brutally gang-raped by six men in a moving bus in Delhi. The horrific assault had provoked nation-wide protests and demands for better protection for women and more stringent laws against rape.
Verdict is expected on the alleged role of one of the accused in the Delhi case, a minor, at the end of this month. Four other accused are in Tihar jail and are being tried by a fast-track court. The sixth accused has died.
http://m.ndtv.com/article/cities/photojournalist-gang-raped-in-mumbai-over-20-detained-409261
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