Four youths were arrested after a 19-year-old girl alleged she was gang-raped by them here, police said today, but later she went back on her charge and claimed they were "friends" who had done no harm to her.
"The youths, aged between 19 and 21, were nabbed on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl," Lal Umed Singh, Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), told reporters this evening.
The alleged incident took place past midnight last night in Shankar Nagar area of the state capital.
The "victim ", however, retracted her statement while talking to the media later, and claimed the accused were her "friends" and they were on a late night outing. The teenager maintained she has not been sexually assaulted.
According to the ASP, a police team, while patrolling on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, found the girl roaming near a college in Shankar Nagar.
During questioning, she claimed she had stepped out of her house in Pandri area to meet her boyfriend, who is one of the accused. After spending some time with him, the teenager said she was sexually assaulted by him and his three friends, who are also known to her, Singh said.
Police swung into action and arrested the four, all residents of Shakti Nagar, and booked them for rape and other charges, the ASP said, adding "the medical examination of the girl has confirmed rape."
The girl denied levelling rape charge and claimed they were enjoying late night picnic and nothing had happened to her. The teenager also said she does not know why police have apprehended her friends.
