Bihar gangrape survivor, among two others, arrested for disrupting court proceedings

A 22-year-old woman has been arrested in Bihar on charges of disrupting proceedings of the district court on July 10. The woman had filed a police complaint alleging gangrape in Araria district of Bihar.

Along with the woman, two other people have been arrested. Kalyani Badola and Tanmay Nivedita had gone along with the woman to the court and are social workers. All three are in judicial custody at a jail in Samastipur district.

It has been reported that while recording her statement before the district judge, she had demanded the presence of the two social workers. They were not allowed to be present with the woman when she went to record her statement in the magistrate's chamber.

The woman was helped by the members of Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, a non-profit organisation in the district, in filing a first information report.

Woman raped by four unidentified men

On July 6, the woman was allegedly raped by four unidentified men. The men have not been arrested yet. There was a fifth man present during the incident who is reportedly known to the woman and who allegedly abetted the sexual assault. He has been arrested.

After giving an oral statement, the woman refused to sign her statement copy as she wanted the two social workers to first read the statement. Kalyani Badola and Tanmay Nivedita later attempted to intervene and help her.

The three have been arrested for using foul language for court officials and disrupting court proceedings. They have been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan protested the arrest and stated that the rape victim was asked to narrate the incident several times and she was in a state of shock and trauma.

The statement states that the victim was made to feel responsible for what happened to her and the family members of the fifth accused, who has been arrested, kept convincing her to marry the accused.

The woman did eventually sign the statement said a member of the Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan.

The organisation's members demanded the release of the woman and the two social workers on "humanitarian grounds", because of the risk of them catching COVID-19 in jail.