Covid-19 lockdown: Three arrested for allegedly raping woman at Rajasthan quarantine facility
The woman said she had been stuck in Sawai Madhopur for a month because of the countrywide lockdown.
The Rajasthan Police arrested three men on Sunday for allegedly raping a woman at a quarantine facility in Sawai Madhopur district, ANI reported. The alleged incident took place last week when the woman was alone in a vacant school building, which had been converted into a temporary Covid-19 quarantine centre by the local residents, in Batoda area.
The police said the complaint was registered by the woman herself on April 24, following which the arrests were made. The woman’s medical examination was done and the three accused were remanded in judicial custody.
The station house officer of Batoda, Seetaram Meena, said the woman in her statement said she had been stuck in Sawai Madhopur for a month because of the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus, according to The Times of India. Eventually she decided to walk to her house in Jaipur. “However, she somehow lost her way and found herself in a village in our police station area.”
Meena said the woman was initially provided accomodation at a vacant government school. The local authorities objected to this, but the villagers said they were worried the woman might be infected with Covid-19 and hence wanted to keep her isolated.
Late in the night, the three accused men from the village went to the school and raped her, an unidentified police official told the newspaper. The police is now further investigating the matter, the official added.
Meanwhile, the woman has been moved to a quarantine centre and her samples have been taken to test for the coronavirus.
Rajasthan has reported 2,185 coronavirus cases with 33 deaths as of Monday. Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in India reached 27,892 on Monday morning and the toll rose to 872.