RAJKOT: A man was allegedly tied to a tree, forced to perform sexual acts with a married woman and made to drink her urine as part of a purported “purification ritual” after the woman’s husband learnt about her relationship with him, police said.The woman and her partner were allegedly taken to a house in Surendranagar on October 4, where the husband and his relatives subjected them to the ordeal. The alleged acts were recorded on mobile phones and the videos were later circulated on social media.Police traced the woman after the videos surfaced online and arrested nine people, including her husband and his relatives.The case came to light after a community leader alerted police about the videos and the woman’s alleged ordeal. Surendranagar DSP Premsukh Delu said several police teams were deployed to locate her.“We received a call from a community leader regarding a woman who had been brutalised. We also came across several videos. Several police teams were deployed to trace the woman,” Delu said.Police searched houses in the area and eventually found the woman. Delu said she began crying when she saw the police. Officers matched her face with the woman seen in the videos and brought her to the police station, where she narrated her ordeal after counselling.
Couple allegedly taken for ‘purification ritual ’
According to the complaint, the woman was married to a man in Vapi but had left him and moved to Chotila, where she had been living with her partner for around three months.Her family later traced her, brought her back to Vapi and allegedly confined her in a house. She eventually escaped and returned to Chotila about five days before the October 4 incident.When her husband learnt that she had returned to Chotila and was staying with her partner, he allegedly alerted his relatives. The group then traced the couple and took them to a house in Surendranagar, allegedly telling them they were going to conduct a “purification ritual”.The complaint alleges that the couple were beaten with wooden sticks after they were taken there. The man was allegedly tied to a tree with a rope, while the woman was confined to a room.The accused allegedly later brought the man and woman together in a verandah and forced the man to perform sexual acts with her. He was then allegedly forced to drink the woman’s urine as part of the purported punishment.
Ordeal recorded, videos circulated
The alleged assault and humiliation were recorded on a mobile phone. The videos subsequently circulated on social media, prompting police to trace the woman.RM Sangada, inspector of A-Division police station, said police were also investigating who recorded the videos and who circulated them online.The accused have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 70(1), Section 115(2), Section 127(3), Section 142 and Section 3(5), besides provisions of the Information Technology Act.
