Two Army officers were assaulted and one of the two female friends they were travelling with was gangraped allegedly by at least six men in Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday, The Indian Express reported.

The alleged assault took place near Jam Gate, a tourist attraction about 50 kilometres away from Indore city along the Mhow-Mandleshwar Road.

The Army men were participants of the Young Officers course at the Infantry School in Indore district’s Mhow, The Times of India quoted Superintendent of Police Hitika Vasal as saying.

On Tuesday night, the Army men and their friends drove to Ahilya Gate near Jam Gate. According to the complaint, around 2.30 am on Wednesday, one of the officers was in the car with his female friend when they were attacked by six to seven men. The other officer and his friend were on a nearby hillock and rushed down upon hearing the commotion.

The assailants allegedly held the two persons in the car hostage at gunpoint and told the other officer to bring Rs 10 lakh as ransom. The officer who was told to arrange for the ransom informed his seniors about the assault once he reached an area with mobile network. The seniors informed the police, who sent a team from Mhow to the spot, according to The Times of India.

However, the accused persons allegedly gangraped one of the women before the police arrived. The assailants ran away after seeing the police vehicle, the superintendent of police said.

The Army officers and their friends were taken to the Mhow Civil Hospital around 6.30 am for them to be medically examined. The medical examination confirmed that one of the women had been gangraped and that both the officers had sustained injuries.

The police filed a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to gangrape, dacoity, extortion and voluntarily causing hurt, as well as provisions of the Arms Act. Two of the accused persons have been arrested, and the police are searching for the others.

Superintendent of Police Hitika Vasal said that one of the accused men had a case of looting filed against him in 2016.

“This was not an organised gang,” she said, according to The Indian Express. “They saw these young people who had gathered at a night spot and decided to attack them. One person also had a pistol on him.”