Woman constable gang raped by dacoits in Jharkhand

A woman police constable, on her way with family members to cremate her brother-in-law, was allegedly gang raped by a gang of dacoits on National Highway 75 near Jagaldaga in Latehar district of Jharkhand, police said on Saturday.

As per the FIR filed by her on Friday, she was gang raped by dacoits when she was going to Garhwa from Ranchi by a car in the wee hours of August 22, Superintendent of Police Michael S Raj said.

She, along with her two sisters, were taking the body of her brother-in-law, which was in another vehicle, for cremation. Her sisters were not harmed, the SP said quoting the FIR.

Five persons have been detained for interrogation, police said.

The dacoits also looted passengers of different vehicles between midnight and 2 am.

The rape victim, a widow, is a constable with the Latehar district police. She has two minor daughters.

She got the job after her husband was killed in the Maoist ambush on the convoy of former Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari in Latehar district's Garu block in December, 2011, the SP said.

A three-member team, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Alok Kumar, has been formed to investigate the matter, the SP said.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh