Woman gang-raped, singed with cigarette in front of 5-year-old son in Kerala

A woman was allegedly gang-raped and singed with cigarette butts by four men before her minor son on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday night, said police, adding five people, including the survivor’s husband, have been arrested.

Narrating the ordeal, the survivor told police that her husband took her and their five-year-old son, on the pretext of going to a nearby beach, to a friend’s house. Once there, the woman claimed she was forced to drink liquor and then taken to a nearby vacant plot where she was sexually assaulted.

The men, the survivor claimed, burnt her with cigarette butts and slapped many times.

Her son was also attacked when he cried. The woman claimed that she was allowed to go on the promise that she will come back after dropping her son home.

On the way back, the woman gestured for a vehicle to stop. Once inside the vehicle, she narrated what happened to her. The occupants of the car then informed the police and the woman was rushed to a hospital.

“Our preliminary investigation shows the husband was a party to the crime. He even forced his wife to not file a complaint. Some of the arrested have a criminal past,” said Thiruvananthapuram rural police superintendent Ashok Kumar.

The officer said the accused will also be charged under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso). Police suspect the accused were part of a drug-peddling gang.

State Women Commission member Shahida Kamal said the victim will be given protection and the commission will ensure that maximum punishment is handed out to the offenders.