5 NGO activists gang-raped at gunpoint by unidentified assailants in Jharkhand

In a horrifying incident, five women were gang-raped by at least five unidentified men at gunpoint in Jharkhand on Tuesday, June 19. The incident occurred when the women, who were social workers, had come to the Khunti district to raise awareness on migration and human trafficking in Kochang village.

Kochang is located about 90 km from state capital Ranchi. The gruesome incident occurred on Tuesday night, right after the NGO team performed a street play at a local school in the village.

A group of unidentified bike-borne miscreants reached the RC Mission School, where they were performing the street play. The women were abducted in the same car that they had arrived and were driven to a secluded location and gang-raped.

The survivors said their male colleagues were beaten and made to drink their own urine before being locked up in the car. The culprits then took the survivors into the forest, gang-raped them and filmed the entire episode on their phones. The survivors said that they were held captive for four hours," the police have stated, according to Times of India.

An FIR has been filed and Ranchi DIG Amol V Homkar has formed three teams to probe into the matter. The police have identified the assailants and launched a manhunt to nab them. However, no arrests have been made so far.

"The survivors, in their statement, alleged that the accused threatened them not to enter the area without their permission to propagate the government's agenda," Homkar was quoted as saying by TOI.

Soon after the incident came to light, the police held an emergency meeting with top-ranking officials in Khunti on Wednesday.

"We have identified the survivors and the men accompanying them. All of them are adults. An FIR has been lodged and a medical board has been set up. The board is conducting a medical examination of the survivors," Holkar told ToI.