Woman gang-raped in Noida’s Gardens Galleria Mall parking lot, three held

Woman gang-raped in Noida’s Gardens Galleria Mall parking lot, three held

A 26-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped in the parking lot of Gardens Galleria Mall in Noida’s Sector 38 in June last year. The woman could not file the complaint back then as she was afraid of the accused, but when they started blackmailing her, she approached the police on December 30.

A case against five miscreants including a scrap dealer has been registered and three of them have been arrested. Two people are still absconding and a search is underway to nab them.

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In her complaint, the woman said that accused Rajkumar asked her to come on June 12 with her documents. Rajkumar then introduced her to his accomplice Mehmi and both told her that Ravi would help her find a job. “After trusting the two, I went to Gardens Galleria mall with the two on June 19 and they took the car towards the parking lot,” the complaint read.

The complaint further states that three men, identified as Ravi, Azad and Vikas, joined them at the parking lot. Ravi then asked her to sit inside the car. Once the woman sat inside, the men pulled out guns and pointed them at her.

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“They started to touch me inappropriately and raped me. Ravi recorded the act and threatened to kill me and my family if I approached the police. He even told me that he would make the video viral. I was frightened and didn’t report the incident,” the complainant said.

According to a police official, an FIR under Sections 376D (gangrape) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code was registered on December 30. The victim’s statement was recorded before a magistrate and teams were formed to nab the accused.

The complainant had immediately not reported the matter to the police because the perpetrators were powerful people, the police said in a statement. However, she approached the police on December 30 upon being blackmailed, and harassed by the accused once again, the police statement added.

The arrested accused have been produced in a local court which has remanded them in judicial custody, the police added.

(With inputs from PTI)