An Indian Woman Who Went to Meet an SNS Friend in Person... Gang-Raped by 25 People

Indian women participating in a rally condemning sexual crimes. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] A woman in India was gang-raped after going out to meet a social networking service (SNS) friend.

According to Pakistani media ARY News and others on the 1st (local time), a woman named A living in Delhi, India, frequently communicated with a man named Sagar, whom she met on Facebook, and they became close, calling each other friends.

Sagar first expressed his desire to meet in person, and A agreed, heading to the Palwal area in northern Haryana state on the 3rd of last month to meet him.

However, when A arrived at the meeting place, Sagar was accompanied by dozens of his friends.

They dragged A to a secluded forest and committed gang rape. It is reported that as many as 25 men participated in the crime.

Afterwards, the perpetrators left A, who had lost consciousness, at a nearby abandoned factory where scrap metal was dumped and fled the scene. It is also reported that A was raped by a scrap metal dealer near the factory after regaining consciousness.

In a police investigation, A said, "(The perpetrators) even threatened to kill me if I reported it." Sagar, who led the rape, is currently in police custody, and the police are continuing investigations to apprehend other suspects.

Meanwhile, such brutal sexual crimes in India continue unabated. On the 25th of last month, a woman who left her home to use a public restroom was dragged to a secluded place by a group of men and sexually assaulted. The perpetrators threatened, "If you resist, we will kill you," indiscriminately beat the resisting victim, and committed the atrocity of hanging her on a utility pole without clothes.

India strengthened punishments related to sexual crimes after the 2012 gang rape and murder of a female college student on a bus in New Delhi, but related crimes have not decreased significantly.

According to statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of India, an average of 88 rape cases are reported daily in India. Considering unreported cases, the actual number of victims is expected to be higher.