A middle-aged woman was allegedly gang-raped early Friday by five men who barged into her home, a police official said.
"We have registered a case under sections 376 and 395 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for sexually assaulting and robbing her of gold ornaments," Hubli Police Commissioner B.A. Padmanayana told IANS here. The twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad in the northern region of the state are about 400km away from Bangalore.
The shocking incident came to light when the victim was taken to the railway hospital in the city by neighbours as she was in a semi-conscious condition with her hands and legs tied up with clothes.
"We are waiting for her to recover fully to record her statement. Though she is out of danger, she is still in a state of shock as she is traumatised by the horrific incident," Padmanayana said.
According to preliminary investigation and on the basis of what the victim told doctors, the assailants, with their faces masked, had barged into her house past midnight and forced to drink some liquid after blind-folding and gagging her.
"Thereafter, she did not remember anything till she regained consciousness in the day. Doctors found injuries on her body, including on both the thighs.
The victim, a mother of two daughters and a son, works as a maid in the local division of the South Western Railway zone.
"We are investigating the case from all angles though we have not arrested anyone so far. We have detained four suspects for interrogation and hope to crack the case soon from the clues we got during the course of investigation," Padmanayana said.
The victim was alone at home as her son went to Bangalore to attend a medical test for a post he applied in railways and her two married daughters live in New Delhi and Bangalore respectively with their families.
