Wardha: Woman gang-raped in auto-rickshaw near railway station, five arrested

A 19-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped near Wardha railway station while returning from Chandrapur to Nagpur. Railway police arrested five men in the case after the victim identified the suspects, following which further action was taken.

According to available information, the woman is a resident of a village in Umred taluka of Nagpur district. She had gone to Chandrapur on September 22. Her father had dropped her at Sonegaon bus station, from where she left for Chandrapur by bus.

On September 23, the woman began her return journey from Chandrapur on the Jayanti Express. She got off at Sevagram railway station late at night. She took an auto-rickshaw to travel from Sevagram to the Wardha railway station area. Near Wardha railway station, an auto-rickshaw driver reportedly made her get back into the rickshaw. He then called some associates. It is alleged that the woman was taken aside and gang-raped.

Railway police were informed of the incident around 4 am on Thursday, after which they began searching for the woman. A search operation was carried out in the area based on the information available.

On Thursday afternoon, the woman was spotted by police in an area of the city. Police spoke to her and gathered details of the incident, after which her family was called. While searching for suspects in the case, police detained several people. An identification parade of the suspects was then held before the woman. After she identified five men, police arrested them.

A case has been registered against all five accused, and further investigation is under way. Police are examining the full sequence of events, the role of the accused and the evidence available. The incident has once again raised questions about the safety of women travelling near railway station areas at night. More details are expected to emerge once the investigation is complete.