Police in Varanasi arrested six individuals after a 19-year-old woman claimed she was raped by 23 men over seven days. The incident was reported when she returned home. The police are investigating and continuing operations to arrest the remaining accused persons.

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A 19-year-old woman was kidnapped and gang raped by 22 people over a week in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Six of the assailants have been arrested and a hunt is on for the rest, the police said.     

The teen, a resident of Lalpur area in north Varanasi, had left home to visit a friend on March 29, which she often did without any trouble. But this time she failed to return home. Her family lodged a complaint with the police on April 4.

The same day, she was apparently drugged and released at the Pandeypur intersection by her kidnappers. She made her way somehow to a friend’s place that was nearby and was later taken home. She later disclosed the details of the ordeal to her father, who subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.

The assaults reportedly took place at a hookah bar, a hotel, a lodge, and a guest house in which various people were involved. The complaint, a copy of which is with NDTV,  mentions 22 people raped her.  

A case has been registered and the police is interrogating the accused men. Some of the arrested men are from Hukulganj and Lallapura areas, and they were taken into custody the same night. But the police are reluctant to give any detail since some of them could be minors.

Chandrakant Meena, a senior officer of the local police, said neither the victim nor her family had initially filed a complaint of sexual assault.  “The rape complaint was lodged only on April 6,” he told reporters.

Further investigations are in progress, he added.