Two sadhvis accuse 4 persons of gangrape in C'garh's Bilaspur

Two sadhvis were allegedly abducted and gang-raped by four persons in Chhattisgarhs Bilaspur district, police said today.

The incident took place on March 2 this year but a case was lodged in this connection yesterday and no arrests had been made so far, a senior police official said today.

"Two sadhvis have named four persons in their complaint which was filed at Pendra police station yesterday. Efforts are on to nab these four persons," said Additional Superintendent of Police (Pendra) Madhulika Singh.

The ASP identified the four, according to the complaint, as Dilipchand Patel from the state's Janjgir-Champa district and Kalpnath Choudhary, Girjashankar Choudhary and Shyamchand Choudhary, the last three belonging to Uttar Predesh's Lalganj area.

As per the complaint, on March 2, the two sadhvis, aged 24 years, got down at Champa railway station from the South Bihar Express.

Dilipchand Patel, who knew them, offered to drop the two women in his car to their ashram in Amoda Hasaud village in Janjgir-Champa district, the official said.

"On the way, Patel turned the vehicle towards Korba district and when the sadhvis objected, he said that he had to attend a child's birthday celebration following which he will drop them at the ashram," the official said.

The sadhvis, in their complaint, stated that at Barapali, three more people got into the car and Patel threatened the two women with a gun when they protested.

The two women were taken to an isolated spot near Sonnadi in Pendra where the four persons raped them, the ASP said.

The accused then tried to kill the victims but when the two women begged for their lives, the culprits spared them after asking them to leave the state, the official said.

Later, one of the victims wrote to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh narrating their ordeal.

Based on the instructions from the state government, police registered an offence yesterday, the ASP said.